Lisa Rochon hosts a roundtable conversation to examine the reasons for the city's architectural mediocrity.
A panel of leading Toronto architects including Ken Greenberg, Don Schmitt, Bruce Kuwabara, Janet Rosenberg and Siamak Hariri outline the systemic and other factors they believe are responsible for Toronto's failure to foster quality urban design. These include a lack of a design champion, a fractured council with no executive branch, an inability for decision makers to think long term, and a planning tool kit that contains the wrong tools. The panel members relate their experiences working abroad, drawing comparisons between how the planning process operates in Toronto versus other world cities.
Thanks to Geoffrey Singer
FULL STORY: Can our city be beautiful in the next five years?

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.

Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.

As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.

With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)