North America
Shipping Sickness
The enormous traffic in imported goods is generating a huge amount of disease-causing pollution in and around ports, and along trade routes.
Can Land Trusts Keep Housing Affordable?
At a time of extreme housing market volatility, community land trusts are seen as a more sustainable form of tenure.
Bikers vs. Environmentalists
Planners in Montgomery County, MD are nixing a proposed bike path because of its nearness to 'ecologically sensitive parkland'. Bicycle proponents think this argument doesn't hold water. Says one,'they're already running a big highway through there.'
Cars a Rite of Passage No More?
That mainstay of adolescence -- achieving car ownership and going cruising -- may be on its way out.
Seniors Facing High Gas Prices Find Giving Up Their Cars Tough
AARP finds that 29% of older Americans polled say they are now walking as a way to avoid high gas prices, but 40% say the sidewalks in their area are inadequate.
Inner-City Suburbs Rebranded as 'Classic Towns'
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the MPO for the Philadelphia metropolitan region, has introduced an innovate way of making people aware of the benefits of older, established suburbs: market them.
Suburbs and City Cores Need Cohesion
Rising energy prices and falling home values are bringing many exurban dwellers closer to the city core. In this commentary, Keith Schneider argues that central cities and inner-ring suburbs need to work with each other to stay afloat.
Home Economics
Philip Langdon comments on the the economy of oil and its effects on urban design in the July/August issue of New Urban News.
NIMBYs On Vacation
Next American City nails NIMBYs for their vacation choices.
Small Town Apocalyptic Values
Josh Stephens reviews James Howard Kunstler's novel of post-peak oil existence, World Made By Hand.
Oil Prices Aren't the Only Reason Sprawl is Dying
In this column, Richard Florida argues the decline in the popularity of suburbs is not just a product of rising oil prices, but a result of a new "spatial fix" that is reorganizing how and where people live their lives.
Report Predicts 'Mass Exodus of Vehicles off America's Highways'
A new report for a Canadian bank examining the economic impact of rising oil prices predicts that millions of Americans will be forced to give up driving as gas reaches $7.00 a gallon.
Autograph Architecture
Architect John Field believes that signature buildings by celebrity architects are destroying the urban fabric and our sense of community.
Are Churches Causing Sprawl?
By moving out to areas where planning approvals are faster, rapidly-expanding churches are creating suburban sprawl, according to a recent study from researchers at Ryerson University.
Unmaking the Problem of Suburbia
Though there is some resistance to change, many cities in North America have their sights on undoing the damage of the last 50 years of suburban development.
Kiplinger's Rates Top 10 Cities to Live, Work and Play
Houston tops the list, which includes Des Moines, Boise and Omaha. Yeah, we want to see their criteria too...
Big Box Thinking When Siting Schools is Creating Sprawl
New schools are consistently built far from community centers, while historic school buildings near where people live are demolished, The Blue Ridge Press reports.
Generations of Planning Commissioners
Planning and zoning commissions need to be diverse to make sure the broad range of issues and concerns are considered. That requires commissioners who are from different parts of town, different walks of life, different ethnic backgrounds, and now, different age groups.
Is The FTA Killing Game-Day Transit?
Game-day transit options are popular amenities in big cities, but new FTA regulations could force them to the curb. Cincinnati's Metro feels the heat from the Feds.
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
