What do all these seemingly unrelated elements have in common? They were just a few of the creative ideas for improving the urban environment showcased at the recent Urban Prototyping Festival held in San Francisco.
"The city as it exists doesn't have to be the city we live in. These crazy projects could reinvent the urban landscape--and make it a little more fun," writes Ariel Schwartz.
She's referring to the Urban Prototyping Festival, which brings together "performances, food and expert speakers," while focusing on the future of urban innovation. According to the event website, "urban prototyping" is defined as "a global movement exploring how participatory design, art and technology can improve cities." All submissions are judged with the criteria of actual replication and adoption in mind.
This year, the festival "was held in the city's troubled yet evolving Central Market neighborhood", reports Schwartz, showcasing 18 out of the dozens of submissions made by "local residents [aiming] to make the urban environment more livable." Some of the more interesting submissions included "Pulse of the City" allowing passersby to "walk up and measure their pulse" and stress levels, says Allison Leahy. Another entry, "PPlanter", is "a urinal attached to garden spaces", which filters water through bamboo biofilters to water plants.
Another noteworthy example, the "10-Mile Garden", capitalizes on a loophole in San Francisco's law that prohibits parking in front of the city's 9,000 fire hydrants, but that doesn't explicitly state these areas need to be paved. The project, thus, proposes using succulents as a native plant to embellish and 'greenify' these otherwise drab grey areas scattered throughout the city. These are just a few of the many projects that were on display over the weekend, check out the slideshow accompanying the article to view more.
FULL STORY: Prototyping The Urban Environment With Garden Urinals And Staircase Slides

Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.

Minneapolis Housing Plan a Success—Not for the Reason You Think
Housing advocates praise the city’s move to eliminate single-family zoning by legalizing triplexes on single-family lots, but that isn’t why housing construction is growing.

New White House Housing Initiative Includes Zoning Reform Incentives
The Biden administration this morning released a new program of actions intended to spur housing construction around the United States.

Proposed Transit Line Would Connect Downtown Tucson to Airport
Based on community input for a 15-mile transit line, residents want to see a focus on affordable housing development and anti-displacement measures.

Strip Malls as a Housing Solution
The American strip mall may be a dying breed of commercial development, but could the buildings serve a new use as sustainable housing?

Study: Most of Vancouver Is a ‘15-Minute City’
A large majority of Vancouver residents can access a grocery store in 15 minutes or less by bicycle or on foot.
Urban Planning Partners
Sandy City
Ada County Highway District
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Redwood City
City of Rohnert Park
City of Hot Springs
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.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.