The water crisis faced by many drought-hit cities is made worse by sprawl. (Complete report).
"This new study by American Rivers, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and Smart GrowthAmerica investigated what happens to water supplies when we replace our natural areas with roads,parking lots and buildings. First, we determined which metropolitan areas have experienced the mostdevelopment over the last 20 years. We found that 11 of the 20 metro areas with the greatest landconversion rates from 1982 to 1997 are in the Southeast; the other nine are divided evenly among theremaining regions three each in the Northeast, Midwest and West. And population growth alonedoes not explain the magnitude of the development. Indeed, in every case but one, developed landgrowth topped population growth, in many cases by a factor of two to three."
Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan
FULL STORY: Paving Our Way To Water Shortages [PDF, 526kb, 34 pages]
How Would Project 2025 Affect America’s Transportation System?
Long story short, it would — and not in a good way.
California Law Ends Road Widening Mandates
Housing developers will no longer be required to dedicate land to roadway widening, which could significantly reduce the cost of construction and support more housing units.
But... Europe
European cities and nations tend to have less violent crime than the United States. Is government social welfare spending the magic bullet that explains this difference?
California Room to Roam Act Prioritizes Wildlife Connectivity
A new state law requires new development and infrastructure to minimize disruption to local wildlife habitats and migration patterns.
Oregon Releases Historic Preservation Plan for Next Decade
A plan from the state’s State Historic Preservation Commission outlines priorities for preserving Oregon’s cultural and historic resources.
Austin’s Vision for I-35 Cap Parks Takes Final Shape
The city’s plan includes parks, entertainment pavilions, commercial space, sports fields, and other facilities over 30 acres of deck parks spanning a sunken Interstate 35.
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.
Placer County
Mayors' Institute on City Design
City of Sunnyvale
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP), the Department of City and Regional Planning (CRP)
Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
City of Portland, ME
Baton Rouge Area Foundation