Technology
Boston's Transportation Choices Studied
A draft Environmental Impact Report is now underway to study the proposed routes and power sources for rail extensions south of Boston. Considerations include ridership, wetlands, smart growth benefits, and future development around train stations.
Tall Towers Break Records, in Height and Numbers
The number and average heights of skyscrapers erected in 2008 are the highest ever thanks to a “lag effect” in the market and a shift toward sustainability.
The Birth of the Map of the Cool
Certain parts of the city generate "buzz" -- through events, parties, or other attractions. Just how much buzz they create is hard to nail down. But a new study focusing on L.A. and New York seeks to quantify the cool factor that makes places pop.
Corn Ethanol Industry In The Tank
Low fuel prices, high corn prices, and a new CA regulation that penalizes the energy intensity necessary to convert corn to fuel are hurting the industry.
Documenting the History of L.A.
A citywide documentation project is underway in Los Angeles, where planners and preservationists (and the public) are documenting the city's important historic and cultural sites.
A Case for LEED-ND: The LEED Platinum Suburban Office Park
A new LEED Platinum building in suburban Minneapolis may be the greenest single building in the state, but what about all those who must drive there? The City of Lakes blog looks at the fallacy of LEED rankings when location is not factored in.
Architecture, Downloaded
Online sources for house plans are cutting the architect out of the home building process. One site is now making available the plans of well-known architects like William Turnbull.
Planning for Spontaneity
According to this opinion piece, planners must ease up on "big bang" planning--an approach centered around sweeping changes with fixed ideas of what the outcome must look like.
Slow and Steady Survives the Recession
Pittsburgh's strategy of slow, steady growth has made it the front runner for sustainable building. The city now boasts the most LEED-certified square footage in the country.
A Meaner, Greener Recipe for Concrete
Concrete in a Minneapolis bridge replacing that which collapsed in 2007 is made of a concoction that boasts less environmental impact and durability. And it's self-cleaning.
Smart Grid Not As Complicated As Some Say
The smart grid is not as hard to define as some have suggested. Jesse Berst, managing director of Global Smart Energy says making it work will be tough, but it's really just a matter of coordinating three crucial aspects, according to Worldchanging.
Dubai's Seawater Vertical Farm
Possibly coming soon to freshwater-poor Dubai is a self-sustaining vertical farm that uses seawater for irrigation, cooling, and humidifying.
Reinventing Infrastructure with Tech
According to Kazys Varnelis, architects should spend less time worrying about the little funding that the stimulus allots to highways and rail, and spending more time focusing on new technologies that supplement typical infrastructure.
Japan's Bullet Trains to Top 310 MPH by 2025
High speed train technology is progressing at a rapid pace in Japan, where mag-lev bullet trains are planned to travel at speeds of more than 310 miles per hour by the year 2025.
Urban Emergence
The concept of 'emergence', in science refers to the way complex systems and patterns arise among groups without planned organization. Emergence is now being applied in interesting ways to study urban areas that evolved spontaneously.
Lightweight Blocks Cut Rail Costs and Timelines
Light rail developers in Utah are cutting costs and timelines with a new and unlikely track base: foam.
Clean Coal Stimulus Funds Put To Work In Indiana
Duke Energy hopes to tap $3.4 billion of stimulus funds to build the nation's first clean coal plant, burning the coal in a gaseous form and storing the CO2 emissions. It already has received federal funds to build the $2.35 coal power plant in IN.
Amsterdam Leading Green City Movement
In the next few months, the Dutch capital will make numerous changes to make its infrastructure greener. With the help of private companies like Cisco and IBM, Amsterdam is closer to becoming a "smart city" than any other in Europe.
Playing Catch-Up with Rail
Have high-speed rail stimulus funds put us any closer to technology like mag-lev? A long record of underfunding makes many of such projects shovel-unready, but hopes are still high.
Legalize Gray Water!
Colorado law prohibits the collection of rainwater, but urban farmers, environmentally-conscious homeowners, and even developers are catching on to its benefits and building momentum for the legalization of rainwater harvesting.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
