Technology
New York Escalates Academic Building Boom
With nearly $10 billion in construction expected over the next five years (in addition to the $4.2 billion spent over the last five), New York City is in the midst of a higher education building boom being led by investment in science and technology
Planners are Futurists With a Practical Bent
Planners are futurists, but with less pretension and jargon. Our work requires predicting how current trends are likely to affect future conditions and activities, and how communities should prepare. For example, let's predict self-driving cars.
The Technology Enhanced City
Explore how people across the world are working to develop technology enhanced solutions to challenges facing their cities.
The Global TechniCity
Tom Sanchez (Virginia Tech) and I decided to offer a free course to a global audience. The response has been phenomenal with more than 17,000 people participating. Learn about what the globe has to say about technology in cities.
There's a Planning App for That
For my annual update of the apps that support planning I've compiled a list of the latest applications for sharing information, visualizations, sensing, predicting, supporting decision making, crowdsourcing, and engaging.
TechniCity: The most fascinating technologies shaping cities
Course explores how the increasing availability of networks, sensors and mobile technologies allows for new approaches to address the challenges that our cities face.
LocalData: An App for Grassroots Planning
A free digital toolkit allowing communities to collect, analyze, and share their own data will be launched nationally at the end of the year.
Together, Urban Design and Planning Can Brighten the Future of Indian Cities
Rapid urbanization in India will create unplanned cities with poor quality of life unless steps are taken to integrate urban design and planning with governance structures, and primitive planning methods are revamped with the latest technology.
Mapping Settlements to Shift the Balance of Power
David Kilcullen creates maps to empower disenfranchised people in developing countries around the world. By combining social science and technology his firm solves tough problems in "frontier environments," reports David Holmes.
Homebuilders Consider What Will Get Gen Y to Buy
Teresa Burney reports on PulteGroup's new marketing services geared towards understanding the Gen Y demographic as new potential homeowners.
Technology Alone Won't Save Our Cities
Brent Toderian, recently the planning director for Vancouver, was interviewed by Denmark's Sustainable Cities about technology and planning. Toderian was contrarian when it came to technology's ability to save the world.
Apartment Prices Controlled by Computers
Landowners with fewer apartments units are starting to use software similar for pricing airline tickets and hotel vacancies to determine rental rates for their properties, reports Matt Hudgins for The New York Times.
Retired Faculty: Keeping Up With Them Via Blogs
With the proliferation of new media planning practitioners have new ways to find out about the continuing work of planning faculty members who have retired. Not all of them blog of course, but the list below demonstrates some of the variety of these efforts.
Using Technology to Advance Sustainability in Cities
Providing wifi on public transit and encouraging people to Check In with their smart phones are two of the three examples cities could implement to bring people closer together.
Digital Democracy in the Big Apple
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NY's "Chief Digital Officer" Rachel Sterne presented plans to use enhance technology that connects citizens with their government.
Leading Thinkers in Urban Planning & Technology
Planetizen founding Editor Chris Steins offers his evaluation of the top 25 thinkers at the intersection of planning and technology.
The McMansions of the Future
Livejournal has posted a series of paintings that ran as part of a 1961 Motorola advertising campaign that depict a futuristic lifestyle and featuring cavernous modern living spaces.
More Techno-Travelers on Transit - Unless It's Crowded
The Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development made over 16,000 observations of portable tech usage on airplains, trains, and buses. Their findings show that there is a increase of tech use on transit, but usage is reliant on users having space.
Homeland Security Frequency Jam?!? What to do When Public Participation Goes Terribly Wrong
In 2009 we worked with Ron Thomas, Mary Means, and Goody Clancy to help plan and run a large 500+ person visioning event in the town of Shreveport. We set up the event the night before with computers at every table for brainstorming and a [...]
Building Permits To Enter 21st Century in NYC
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced yesterday that the city will begin to utilize QR (quick response) codes on all building permits, providing more access to information for New York residents.
Pagination
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.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions