With the global success of the city's homegrown "parklets" program firmly established, the Gray Area Foundation for the Arts is hosting a series of "urban prototyping" festivals in S.F. in the hopes of finding the next DIY superstar.
Emily Badger is gung-ho for the next generation of DIY urbanism projects that will be exhibited as part of the "urban prototyping" festival being hosted by GAFFTA in downtown San Francisco in October. In preparation for the festival, "GAFFTA and several partner organizations –
including the Mayor's Office of Civic Innovation – have been looking for
replicable, affordable ideas at the intersection of public space and
technology." And Badger delivers a sneak peak at some of the ideas that will be on display, including a DIY traffic counter, a hybrid bathroom/planter, and a prototype that "could turn any set of public stairs into a xylophone."
"'We don't want $50,000, $100,000 really nice installations necessarily,'
[Jake] Levitas, [research director at GAFFTA] says. Rather, the groups want to showcase the kind of
open-source idea that could be demoed in San Francisco and rebuilt
around the world, just as parklets were. Each project, they hope, will
have a technological component, whether that involves sensors, smart
phone apps, web maps or digital how-to guides for reconstructing the
ideas."
FULL STORY: The Next Generation of DIY Urbanism Projects: So Much Cooler Than Parklets

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

Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?

The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.

Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.

Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions