Public Services
Opinion: Smartphone Dependency Mirrors Car-Centric Development
Decades ago, we started building a society based around car ownership, making it difficult to navigate U.S. cities without one. Are we making the same mistakes with smartphones?
Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
Enhancing Public Services to LA's Unincorporated Areas
The County of Los Angeles recently launched a website to better connect residents of unincorporated areas to information and municipal services offered by the county.
Charging for Parking to Finance Public Services
Donald Shoup, Quan Yuan, and Xin Jiang guest blog about their recent article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.
Improved Public Services a Beneficial By-Product of Detroit Bankruptcy
The addition of 50 new police cars, ramped up bus service, and long overdue streetlight repairs are all being planned as bankruptcy proceedings allow Detroit to increase funding for public services.
Why We'll Likely See a Lot More Urban-Oriented Protests in the Future
If there's one common thread uniting the recent protests in Brazil and Turkey, it's the growing inequality evident in cities, and the inability (or disinterest) of the public sector in bridging that gap through public services.
Local Governments Work Together to Fight Recession
Chuck Raasch looks at how combining services can help local governments "to capitalize on the economics of scale and offset declining revenue since the Great Recession."
Detroit Focuses on its Healthiest 'Hoods
Officials in Detroit have unveiled plans to taper off public services in certain parts of town unlikely to see their populations rebound and to focus on areas likely to recover.
Varying Levels of Distress and Service in Detroit
In a newly announced effort, different parts of Detroit will receive different levels of public services based on projections of whether or not they're expected to grow in the future.
Who Picks Up the Slack When Counties Dissolve?
As timber payments dry up, two Oregon counties are warning that they could dissolve in a year, leaving many in the state wondering how to provide services for residents.
Services Lacking in the Servants' Slums
Upwardly-mobile city dwellers in India are heavily reliant on the neighboring slums that house their servants. But many public services are lacking beyond the walls of the affluent developments.
Providing Public Services a Challenge for Karachi's Mayor
Tackling urban infrastructure problems in Karachi, Pakistan, is an uphill battle for Mayor Syed Mustafa Kamal. With few services, continuing violence and a rising population, he has his work more than cut out for him.
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
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
