Technology
'Wood Waste' Power Plant Raises Questions in Texas
The city of Austin considers a multi-billion dollar investment in a "biomass" power plant, burning wood waste in East Texas as a carbon-neutral, renewable energy source.
Boise Looks to Streetcars for Urban Renewal
Boise considers resurrecting their streetcar system after an 80 year absence.
Flood Forecasting Goes 3D
New modeling software could soon be available that would allow monitoring across the internet of flood levels in specific areas- like your backyard.
The Microsoft Sphere
Microsoft has introduced a spherical computer display that lets users touch the globe to interact with it. There are many likely applications for planning and public participation.
NYC's New Green Escalators
Escalators are major energy wasters, so many cities are looking for greener solutions. 35 new green escalators were recently installed in the New York Subway, with mixed success.
Avoid Smelly Humans In Your Own Transit Compartment
Australian designer Hamit Kanuni Kuralkan has designed a transit concept lined with one-person compartments for personal space.
China Rail Goes High Speed
A new high-speed rail line has opened in China, just in time for the Olympics.
Is Globalization Slowing?
Alex Steffen of WorldChanging proposes that globalization could soon change direction as transportation costs increase.
Time for Government 2.0
With increasing amounts of data collected and held by governments, there's a lot of opportunity to make use of it for the betterment of communities, according to this column from Neal Peirce.
San Francisco Locked Out of Own Data By Disgruntled Employee
A systems admin in San Francisco apparently decided to bring San Francisco grinding to a halt, and refuses to divulge the passwords he set up across the city's entire network.
Google Maps Adds Walking Directions
Google announces walking directions feature for Google Maps.
Will Your Bank Card and Bus Pass Become One?
MarketWatch reports on the rise of contactless smart cards in public transit and banking, and speculates that the time is ripe to put the two uses on the same card.
Are Automated Public Toilets A Fiasco?
Seattle is closing the lid on a disappointing experiment with public toilets after spending $5 million dollars to install them. Cities from Boston to San Francisco have had mixed results with automated toilets, The New York Times reports.
Electricity and Rail Can Solve Our Energy Woes
Writer Benjamin J. Turon argues that we aren't in an energy crisis as much as a transportation crisis, and that we already have all the technology we need.
FasTrak Toll Hacking: Dangerous Or Ridiculous?
A "Black Hat security researcher" claims he has discovered security flaws in the FasTrak toll transponder used by drivers in California and Colorado. However, the story is quickly dismantled as "baloney" by a toll road industry insider.
Networked Parking System Alerts Drivers to Free Spots
New technologies promise to revolutionize the hunt for a parking spot in big cities like San Francisco. Donald Shoup is along for the ride.
It's Not That Easy Greening Your Fleet
Austin and a number of other cities are working to reduce the carbon footprint left by their fleets of city vehicles. Austin officials are looking for ways to offset their remaining emissions.
GIS Solves Crimes
Cops in Toronto catch a criminal through GIS plotting, and reporter Sara Barbour takes us on a tour of other unusual new applications of GIS.
The Green City of the Future
This multimedia presentation from Popular Science offers a vision of future green cities and the technologies that will sustain them.
People Mover
This article from Next American City looks at escalators -- the expensive, energy-intensive, and often under-used transportation mode.
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.
Tyler Technologies
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
