Illinois
Faster Chicago to St. Louis Trains Likely to Increase Car Traffic
Next year, trains traveling at up to 110 mph will speed through grade crossings faster than the current trains traveling at up to 79 m.p.h, and motorists need to prepare for crossing gates that will stay down up to three times longer.
The Sharing Economy Comes to Urban Public Schools
How one firm is integrating sharing economy principles to bolster Chicago's public schools.
Bloomington Allows Artisanal Production in Retail Zones
Craft beer aficionados take note. Bloomington, Illinois now allows businesses selling artisanal products to manufacture their goods on-site. The ruling blurs a distinction between industrial and commercial zoning.
Design Team Selected for the Obama Presidential Library in Chicago
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners (TWBTA) will design the Obama Presidential Center—selected from a group of seven finalists.
Why is Missouri Holding Up a High-Voltage Transmission Line for Wind Energy?
The 'Show Me State' nixed a 780-mile high voltage transmission line to carry wind energy generated in western Kansas through Missouri to Indiana, where it would transmitted to the East Coast.
Mapping The Movement of *Some* Millennials
The in-migration of Millennials is largely driving the changes that American cities are going through. More specifically, it is the ones with college degrees who are driving the change. Where are they moving, and what is their effect?
Summer Is Here—and So Are 'Smart Beaches'
A group of "citizen data scientists" produced a predictive analytic model that offers citizens better information about water quality on beaches along Lake Michigan in Chicago.
Shuttering of Illinois Nuke Plants Cause Enviro Groups to Rethink Opposition
The Wall Street Journal reports that the climate crisis is causing some mainstream environmental groups, including the largest, the Sierra Club, to rethink their long-standing opposition to the carbon-free power source.
Welcome to a Changed Climate: It Even Floods When it's Sunny
A new report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration documents the increasing frequency of nuisance floods and "clear-sky flooding."
Planetizen Week in Review: June 10, 2016
A two-minute-and-thirty-five-second tour of the news and events from the week in planning.
A 2,000-Foot Skyscraper Imagined for the Site of Chicago's Infamous Spire
Global architecture firm Gensler is doing its job to get the ball rolling on the dormant former site of the Spire project designed by Santiago Calatrava.
Researchers Develop 7 Metrics to Evaluate Bike And Pedestrian Projects
New research lays the groundwork for a universal standard by which to measure effectiveness of bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects.
Tear It Down and They Will Come?
There's a rationale for the demolition of vacant properties in cities like Chicago, but does that mean the city should be celebrating these programs? The planning of shrinking cities, it turns out, is still very much a work in progress.
Op-Ed: More Domestic Migration Needed in the United States
An op-ed in the New York Times makes a cogent case for increasing movement between states for self-betterment, specifically from high unemployment states to states like New Hampshire and North Dakota, and what policy changes would encourage it.
A Chicago Bike Path Goes Underused
While a federally-funded network of bike paths is in the works elsewhere in the city, the Major Taylor Trail gets little use from Chicago residents. The main problems are a lack of awareness and the South Side's fearsome reputation.
Uber and Lyft Could Be Ready to Exit Chicago, Too
After leaving Austin on the losing side of a regulatory battle, a licensing ordinance might push Uber and Lyft to end operations in Chicago.
Black Flight From Gun Violence: Chicago's Loss Is Suburbia's Gain
Middle class African-Americans are fleeing Chicago due to crime, not due to being priced out, as is common elsewhere. "On average more than 10,000 African-Americans leave the city every," reports Brandis Friedman of WTTW for the PBS NewsHour.
Why Chicago Park Advocates Want to Preserve a Parking Lot
A Chicago nonprofit drew criticism for opposing the planned Lucas Museum in favor of a large parking lot. But the organization says it fits into their mission of promoting open space.
Will Chicago Be the Next to Jump on the Sky Gondola?
Chicago's looking for a new tourist attraction, and the sky gondola has made the short list. Private investors have proposed to construct a sky gondola as a tourist attraction crossing over the Chicago River, but will the plan fly?
Chicago Chinatown's an Outlier of Success
While the cultural authenticity and geographic footprint of Chinatowns around the United States shrink, Chicago's is growing. What can other cities learn from Chicago's model?
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
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority