A contest sponsored by the Vancouver Public Space Network asks the public to find Vancouver's heart, a civic square that best defines the city. Sean Ruthen ponders the city's relationships to the each its primary squares now.
"As I was mentally surveying the existing civic squares in our city while at the Library for the presentation, it occurred to me that Vancouver has a long history of creating publicly recognized civic realms, and subsequently abandoning them. How else to explain the cases of the plaza in front of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, or Centennial Square just up the street, as well as the aforementioned Library Square. Cornelia Oberlander, while understandably adamant about her refurbished Robson Square - that it will return the civic heart to the CBD - likewise voiced some concern about how those responsible at City Hall have become over the years increasingly negligent of their civic responsibility to support some form of civic pride in the city's great outdoors."
FULL STORY: The search for Vancouver’s real heart

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

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

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

New State Study Suggests Homelessness Far Undercounted in New Mexico
An analysis of hospital visit records provided a more accurate count than the annual point-in-time count used by most agencies.

Michigan Bills Would Stiffen Penalties for Deadly Crashes
Proposed state legislation would close a ‘legal gap’ that lets drivers who kill get away with few repercussions.

Report: Bus Ridership Back to 86 Percent of Pre-Covid Levels
Transit ridership around the country was up by 85 percent in all modes in 2024.
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.
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City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
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Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions