Technology
Ready, Set, Action: Using 'Active Lifestyle Cameras' in Planning
Active Lifestyle Cameras are increasing in popularity—allowing for people to capture the moment on camera while in action. Now planners can use active lifestyle cameras to study all manner of activities, from use of parks to commuting.
Part Two: Should MoMA Tout Tactical Urbanism(s) as a Solution to Uneven Growth?
The second and final post about MoMa's exhibit, "Uneven Growth: Tactical Urbanisms for Expanding Megacities."
Is California's High Speed Rail the Transcontinental Railroad of its Time?
Journalist Kathleen Sharp, whose great-grandfather worked on the transcontinental railroad, draws comparisons between that epic achievement and the construction of California's high speed rail in this New York Times op-ed.
Measuring Brainwaves to Map the Stress Level of Bike Routes
Anyone who uses a bike to navigate their city knows that every ride has stretches that are much more stressful than others. A new project collects data from brainwaves to map the stress levels of bikers in New York City.
New Index Ranks Cities by their Transportation Apps
In some cities, it can feel like a new era of transportation—with new options like real-time bus arrival data, on-demand cars-for-hire, and more, all available through a smart phone. Which cities are out in front of the new world?
Website Opens Bay Area Transportation Data to the Masses
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission—the Bay Area's regional transportation planning agency—recently did fans of data and mapping a huge favor and launched a website called Vital Signs.
Digital Divide Includes Transportation And Tech
For people who'd rather own a smart phone than a set of wheels, new types of mobile tech are making it increasingly easy to get around cities. A recent report ranks the metro areas that are making best use of these technologies. On top: Austin, TX
Auto Use Holds Steady in San Francisco
Even as innovations like ridesharing take hold in tech-friendly San Francisco, the percentage of trips taken by personal auto is stuck at just under 50 percent.
Uber's Newest Competitor: Google
Big news on the automated vehicle front yesterday, as Google and Uber now seem destined to become competitors in the battle for the future of transportation.
Running on 100 Percent Renewables, Burlington Shows the Way Forward
The city of Burlington, largest in the Green Mountain State, is the only city in the U.S. to provide electricity from entirely renewable sources, notwithstanding criticism from some environmentalists. PBS Newshour Weekend investigates.
High Tech Stores Provide New Leases on Life for High-End Malls
Big-name technology companies with retail stores, like Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla, have enabled many Class A malls to not just stay in business, but thrive. Record sales per square foot are flowing.
Mapping U.S. Highway Intensity
A new map from Mapbox visualizes traffic on all roads eligible for highway safety funds by combining data available through the Highway Performance Monitoring System on OpenStreetMap.
Private Cellphone Data and the Next Frontier of Urban Planning
A survey of the quickly broadening reach of data about the movement of traffic reveals the next step necessary to achieve congestion nirvana: unfettered access to private cell phone data.
Is the Waze Police-Tracking Feature a Threat to Public Safety?
The popular navigation app Waze includes a feature that rewards users for revealing the location of police officers. A debate over the public safety impacts of that feature is gaining traction, and some police officers want the feature removed.
City Planning Department Technology Benchmarking Survey 2015
The following report surveys the current state of Internet technology as employed by the planning departments of over 500 cities in the United States.
An Interactive Map of California's Urban Water Use
California has commenced new water use reporting requirements, which the Pacific Institute has compiled into an interactive map and database to provide accessible evidence about where the state's water goes.
Pittsburgh Launches GPS-Enabled Snow Plow Tracker
Pittsburgh has a new web-based portal for residents to track snow removal operations as they happen. It's the latest example of a city allowing public access to the details of city operations during snowstorms.
Can Maine Follow Denmark to Energy Independence?
Visitors from small islands off the coast of Maine traveled to Samsø, a larger island off the coast of Denmark, to learn how to emulate its transformation into a model of renewable energy.
Lessons for the Real World in SimCity 4's Homeless Problem
Emanuel Maiberg discusses an ongoing crisis in a simulated version of reality familiar to many planners—i.e., the homelessness problem in SimCity 4.
A Small Town's Game-Changing Approach to Mapping
Portsmoth, New Hampshire has created textured, 3D maps of its historic district to help illustrate development impacts during the approval process.
Pagination
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