The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The Top Towns For Adventure

<p><em>National Geographic Adventure</em> has released a guide to the best adventure towns in the U.S. Their lists include the best small towns, cities, mountain towns, coastal towns, and others.</p>

August 16 - National Geographic Adventure

Infamous Drug City Is Reborn

<p>Medellín, Colombia, has escaped from the bloody grips of the violent drug warfare that consumed its streets in the 1980s to become a vibrant and active city.</p>

August 16 - International Herald Tribune

Miami's Highway Makeover

<p>Thanks to recently acquired federal funding, commuter lanes along Miami's Interstate 95 will soon be replaced by toll lanes.</p>

August 16 - The Miami Herald

Bridge Collapse In China Raises Concerns About Rushed Development

<p>The bridge collapse that killed at least 36 people this week in China is being blamed on rushed construction and the larger issue of the country's emphasis on rapid economic growth.</p>

August 16 - International Herald Tribune

British Pubs Endangered

<p>A group of concerned, beer-drinking citizens is issuing a warning that more than 50 pubs are closing every month in England due to a planning loophole that makes it easy for owners to convert their bars into more profitable housing developments.</p>

August 16 - BBC


San Francisco's Congestion Pricing Plan Receives Conditional Federal Funding

<p>The Bay Area received $158 million from a federal congestion pricing program for improvements to traffic, transit, and parking, but it is conditional upon San Francisco and California legislative approval for the controversial tolls on Doyle Drive.</p>

August 16 - San Francisco Examiner

Mike Davis Discusses Dubai

<p>In this interview, urbanist Mike Davis talks about the rapidly growing emirate of Dubai.</p>

August 16 - Ink by the Barrel


Condo Conversions Leaving Seniors Stranded

<p>The wave of condo conversions in the Seattle area is hitting seniors especially hard.</p>

August 16 - The Seattle Times

Deceptive Planning Brings Wal-Mart To Disgruntled Community

<p>This piece from <em>The Roanoke Times</em> laments the coming of a Wal-Mart Supercenter, and blasts the planning process that let a proposed mixed-use walkable town center transform into a "big-box juggernaut".</p>

August 16 - The Roanoke Times

Personal Tales Of Road Rage In The City Of Angels

<p>As more cyclists and runners use the streets of Los Angeles, incidents of road rage and accidents are on the rise.</p>

August 15 - The Los Angeles Times

Bridge Collapse May Clear Budget Roadblocks

<p>A history of speedbumps have hindered transit funding in Minnesota, but after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, the state's roads may finally get the maintenance money they need.</p>

August 15 - Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune

Grass-roots Action Could Improve World's Slums

<p>Can globalization change the world's poorest neighborhoods?</p>

August 15 - The Washington Post Writers Group

Downtown L.A. Is Improving, But Developers Are Driving

<p>With a surge in population and some large-scale retail and entertainment complexes in the works, downtown L.A. is in the midst of a major urban shift. But as this column from the <em>Los Angeles Times</em> argues, developers are shaping the growth.</p>

August 15 - The Los Angeles Times

Big Trouble In A Struggling Chinatown

<p>Two civic groups in Washington D.C.'s Chinatown are battling over a proposal to close an alleyway to allow the development of offices. Opponents argue the plan is short-sighted, while others say an economic boost will save the struggling district.</p>

August 15 - The Washington Post

Catch-22 Hinders Harbor Redevelopment Plans

<p>Plans to redevelop a harbor are under consideration in Victoria, British Columbia, but would require the relocation of a busy ferry terminal -- one of the harbor's top services. The ferry's operators say the redevelopment would fail without them.</p>

August 15 - Times Colonist

Tax Breaks Fueling Luxury Condo Development In Gulf

<p>Investors are taking advantage of tax breaks offered for developing and buying property in hurricane-affected areas of the Gulf region, such as the hot condo market that has sprung up next to a college football stadium in Alabama.</p>

August 15 - Associated Press via The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Roadwork Boosts Transit Ridership

<p>With major roadwork underway on a stretch of heavily-used Interstate 5 in Seattle, many commuters chose public transit to avoid the resulting congestion. But many are wondering whether commuters will keep using transit after the work is done.</p>

August 15 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Officials Vote No On 'Flawed' Incentive, Propose New System

<p>Two Roanoke City Councilmembers explain why they voted against an $880,000 city grant to a local developer and propose a more objective approach to offering development incentives.</p>

August 15 - The Roanoke Times

The Ancient Metropolis Of Angkor

<p>New research is showing that the ancient Cambodian city of Angkor was once a sprawling and intricately irrigated metropolis of nearly one million people.</p>

August 15 - The Los Angeles Times

Commercial Construction Balances Growth

<p>Despite busts in residential construction, American cities such as Phoenix are managing to continue growing due to an influx of commercial construction.</p>

August 14 - The Wall Street Journal

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Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

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The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

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A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.