Olympics

Meet the New River Seine
The Paris Olympics will highlight the renaissance of the city’s famous river.

L.A. Seeking Funding for New Transit Projects Prior to the 2028 Summer Olympics
Los Angeles officials have been working for years to deliver a suite of transit projects in time for the 2028 Olympics. Planners now hope federal infrastructure funding could reinvigorate the effort.

Video: The Athletic Feats Required to Navigate NYC
A video from Transportation Alternatives highlights the infrastructure failures that can make getting around the city an Olympian feat.

Can Hydrogen Make a Comeback?
While hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are much less popular than their battery-powered siblings, California remains committed to the zero-emission technology, with three state agencies investing in and monitoring its progress.

Calls to Bring the Olympic Streetcar Back to Vancouver
Vancouver's mile-long street car was built for the Olympics and ran for only 60 days, but some of the city's residents want that service back.

Abandoned Olympic Venues Cast Doubt on the Value of Hosting
Though cities hope for an economic boost, these photos show it's far from guaranteed.

Rio's Pricey Sky Gondola Goes Full Stop
The sky gondola system built prior to the Rio Olympics has ground to a halt, leaving residents of the city's favelas with little to show for such a grand investment in infrastructure.

For Host Cities, Olympic Legacies Are Mixed
The two-week competition is often touted as a galvanizing force for urban development. But that's only cities include the Games' legacy in their planning process from the start.

Going For the Gold: When Town Planning Was an Olympic Competition
In the first half of the 20th century, the Olympic games actually had a medal competition for town planning.

Rio's New Metro Crosses the Finishing Line Just in Time
It was a photo finish for Line 4—one of the signature infrastructure projects of the 2016 Summer Olympics—designed to transport passengers between Ipanema beach and the Olympic Park and Village.

Rio Scrambles to Ready Subway Before Olympics
Beset by delays and financial problems, the state of Rio is having trouble completing a new subway line before the Olympics start a month from now. The time crunch may cut into time for testing, presaging problems in August.
Boston Out of the Olympics Game for 2024
After a protracted controversy, the United States Olympic Committee officially terminated the bid for Boston to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
Still They Ride
A forthcoming film documents the tribulations and Olympic ambitions of the Afghani women's national cycling team, who face ridicule and harassment for riding in the public.
Do Canada's Active, Outdoor Winters Breed Olympics Gold?
If you need a little misery-loves-company commiseration on winter, Hazel Borys shares some pics from Winnipeg, the coldest big city on earth. How this winter city deals with the polar vortex is something we may all need to get used to.
'Tradition and Stability' Win as Tokyo Selected to Host 2020 Olympics
With the selection of Tokyo over Istanbul and Madrid as the host of the 2020 Summer Olympics, continuing concerns over radioactivity trumped social instability and a deep economic recession as the least dangerous alternative.
Economists Agree: The Olympics are a Terrible Investment
As a group from Washington, D.C. announced plans to bid for the 2024 Olympics, economists released a report on the high costs of hosting the Games for cities, including expensive infrastructure and small economic benefits.
Olympics Earn a Gold Medal in Displacement
Lawrence Vale and Annemarie Gray compare the cases of communities displaced by the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where redevelopment for the 2016 Games is underway, and Atlanta, 20 years ago.
Can a Soccer Tournament Revive Cities Across Europe?
Henry Grabar celebrates the recent decision by UEFA, European soccer's governing body, to hold their 2020 tournament in cities across the continent, rather than in one or two countries as has been the tradition.
Do Big Events Mean Big Bucks?
In the quadrennial competition to secure mega-events such as the Olympics and political conventions, the economic benefit to host cities is regularly flaunted. Carl Bialik looks at why big events may not mean big bucks for their host cities.
In the Shadow of the Olympics: Dickensian Squalor
Simon Clark and Chris Spillane document the illegal, and often squalid, housing that can be found only three miles from the gleaming Olympic Stadium.
Pagination
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Morganton
San Joaquin County
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Park City Municipal Corporation
National Capital Planning Commission
City of Santa Fe, New Mexico
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.