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
Read the 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.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
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 Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority