Do you have to be a “plannerd” to think planning is cool? Is there a planner alive who can bridge the divide between the mysteries of planning and general public interest? One writer dares to hope.
“How many well known Urban Planners can you name off the top of your head?” asks Patrick McDonnell.
“I’m an Urban Planner, and I can’t even name five. Not because I don’t know any, because urban planning is about as sexy as fountain maintenance — no offense to fountain maintenance workers.”
Inspired by Amanda Burden’s recent TED talk, as well as Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Ship of the Imagination” on the television show Cosmos, McDonnell makes an impassioned plea to spice up planning.
It’s not too big a stretch to imagine that people might find planning interesting, says McDonnell: “Urban Planners design cities for a living. We define how land is used. We take massive systems of people and create ways for them to use the city including everything from transportation, to living, to entertainment, to public spaces, to climate change, to food systems and everything that makes cities run. This shit is cool!”
Read the full story: Why We Need A ‘Neil deGrasse Tyson’ of Urban Planning
I Use the Word 'Vibrant' (and You Can Too)
Planners and designers should not be afraid to reclaim overused and misused words—as long as they know what they're doing.
The Problem With Outsourcing Public Engagement
Why hiring outside consultants to represent public works projects at meetings often misses the point of having public officials hear community concerns.
Raleigh Pilots App-Based Feedback Program for Accessible Parking
The city is using the program to collect real-time information about accessibility issues and correct them quickly.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Study reveals best places in the U.S. for cycling, walking
New research from Streetlight Data examines bicycle and pedestrian miles per capita in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population.
DSA members accuse Mamdani of 'abandoning values' over housing redevelopment
New York City's mayor plans to replace about 2,000 units of public housing with private, mixed-income housing.
All sides of BRT debate unhappy with CDOT’s most recent move
The Colorado Department of Transportation is no longer considering center-running bus lanes for Colorado Boulevard.
Massachusetts bogs generate both power, and cranberries
Putting solar panels above farmland is one way Massachusetts is advancing toward its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
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
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello