This excerpted chapter is from a "fix-it manual" for citizen planners working on improving their towns or neighborhoods.
Real Towns is a handbook for real people - people who live in small towns, new suburbs or big cities; in downtown neighborhoods, historic districts or high-rise condos. This fix-it manual can help citizens working on real neighborhoods - places filled with character, families, and history, with people who want to make their communites work better. It gives local government officials, developers and citizen activists the tools needed to apply time-tested principles to revitalize their neighborhoods."This is a fix-it manual for working on real towns or neighborhoods - places filled with character, with families, with history, filled with people who want to make them better. Making towns work isn't exactly rocket science. It is often more complicated -- but some of the basic truths are very simple. Just as owner-builders can learn how to work on their houses, citizens can learn how to work on their communities. The obvious place to start is by looking at the parts that aren't working well, figuring out how they are interrelated, and diagnosing how to fix them together." The Citizen Planner has become an integral chapter in the recently-released book, Real Towns: Making Your Neighborhood Work (Local Government Commission and Citizen Planner Institute, 2000). [Thanks to "Real Towns" author Harrison Bright Rue for contributing the book summary.]
Thanks to The Practice of New Urbanism
FULL STORY: The Citizen Planner

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

Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename DC Metro “Trump Train”
The Make Autorail Great Again Act would withhold federal funding to the system until the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), rebrands as the Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access (WMAGA).

The Simple Legislative Tool Transforming Vacant Downtowns
In California, Michigan and Georgia, an easy win is bringing dollars — and delight — back to city centers.

The States Losing Rural Delivery Rooms at an Alarming Pace
In some states, as few as 9% of rural hospitals still deliver babies. As a result, rising pre-term births, no adequate pre-term care and "harrowing" close calls are a growing reality.

The Small South Asian Republic Going all in on EVs
Thanks to one simple policy change less than five years ago, 65% of new cars in this Himalayan country are now electric.

DC Backpedals on Bike Lane Protection, Swaps Barriers for Paint
Citing aesthetic concerns, the city is removing the concrete barriers and flexposts that once separated Arizona Avenue cyclists from motor vehicles.
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)