Are today's city planners fulfilling the promise of John Nolen? Howard Blackson explores a profession losing its influence, and ponders how to get it back.
"This is not the planning profession John Nolen built. A century later, our great recession has sparked a full re-evaluation of what a city’s urban planning department should be ‘doing’ for its citizens. The planning profession is being measured by its eternal conundrum between Forward Planning Departments that plan for future development projects and Current Planning Services that process today’s development applications."
"And, it appears that a few radical devolutions are taking place."
Blackson goes on to examine the role of planners as the rightful generators of:
- Return on investment analysis
- Research data on city making in the information age
- Articulated future vision generated by public consensus in real graphic terms
- Public investment guidance as well as private development regulation
- Place-based, human-scaled, neighborhood-centric visioning, coding and implementation tools
FULL STORY: The Future of Municipal Planning: Is John Nolen rolling over in his grave?
Is Your City an Innovator or a Follower?
Howard Blackson walks through the planning layers of San Diego for a history lesson as well as a look to the Next Urbanism.
City Deficits "Driven" by Suburban Patterns
As San Diego is paralyzed by the cost to maintain its infrastructure, Howard Blackson revels in a eureka moment, provided by Chuck Marohn, in recognizing the city's explicitly suburban pattern of development is a well-documented financial blunder.
Calthorpe Makes the Case for a Corridor-Based Approach to Affordable Housing
Peter Calthorpe's case study of El Camino Real in the Silicon Valley shows the potential for affordable housing development in the land surrounding side right-of-ways.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.
MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.
Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie