M.I.T. has developed a new open-source ArcGIS toolbox that they say will illustrate how a cities' spatial layout affects the way people will live in it.
The program, writes Michael J. Coren at Fast Company:
"...measures traits such as "reach, gravity, betweenness, closeness, and straightness," which, in laymen terms, express features such as the number of services, buildings, and resources within a certain walking distance, or the volume of traffic along sidewalks and streets."
Read the full story: MIT's Free Urban Planning Software Will Help Build The Cities Of The Future
Sidewalk Labs Debuts New Generative Design Tool
A new generative tool developed by Sidewalk Labs uses machine learning and computational design to generate millions of comprehensive planning scenarios.
Sim China?
The US Department of Energy has created a software tool not unlike Sim City that can project scenarios for an actual population's energy, transportation and fuel needs. The software made its debut recently modeling a development in Jinan, China.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Eating, littering on Singapore buses now a fineable offense
Passengers who put other riders in danger may be charged thousands of Singapore dollars.
This rural Oklahoma town doesn’t want a data center. It may not be able to stop the project
With the project outside city limits and little county oversight of unincorporated land, officials are considering measures to gain local control.
Trump administration unlawfully slashed $7 billion in clean energy grants, judge rules
The Environmental Protection Agency ended the Solar For All program, which provided the grants, after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello