New York

Rummaging Through New York's Garbage

New York has a filthy history, says Robin Nagle, the New York City Department of Sanitation's anthropologist-in-residence. The muck of early Manhattan was much worse than you even suspected.

October 21, 2010 - OnEarth

Hello Moynihan Station - Goodbye Penn

It's the busiest rail station in America - the first step of its transformation that returns some of its former grandeur began Oct. 18 at a groundbreaking that included DOT Secretary Ray LaHood. Penn Station will be renamed Moynihan Station.

October 19, 2010 - Crain's N.Y. Business - Real Estate

Ped, Bike, & Bus: Transforming NYC Streets

This 6-minute video looks at how New York City streets have changed after a mere three years of planning. Pedestrian plazas, bike lanes, and bus rapid transit are the major projects highlighted, and the improvements to economy, health, and happiness

October 13, 2010 - Grist

Rapid-Transit Buses Make Manhattan Debut

The new system is designed to reduce travel time along a heavily congested north-south route on the city's East Side. However, unfamiliar ticketing protocols led to passenger confusion on the first day of operation.

October 12, 2010 - The New York Times

Sky Trams to Reopen in New York

Aerial trams connecting New York City to Roosevelt Island are going to be back in operation next month. But will enough people want to ride these "sky bubbles" over the East River?

October 11, 2010 - The New York Times

Deciding The Fate Of Long Island Bus

It appears to be a case of brinkmanship between suburban Nassau County and the regional Metropolitan Transportation Authority over how to fund Long Island Bus, with riders and workers the only sure losers.

October 11, 2010 - Streetsblog

A Tale of Two Tall Towers

Josh Leon reports on his time "around two instructive pieces of vertical architecture that could presumably be competitors in a transoceanic race between the US and China for economic hegemony."

October 10, 2010 - Next American City

Jean Nouvel Tower Cut Down To Size

Nicolai Ouroussoff, The New York Times' architecture critic, argues that philistine planning decisions such as the one that restricted the height of Jean Nouvel's proposed tower last month, "risk transforming a living city into an urban mausoleum."

October 9, 2010 - The New York Times

Transit, Not Traffic Reduction, Helps NYC Hit Greenhouse Gas Targets

Is New York City's green transportation revolution overhyped? It turns out that emissions from private cars actually increased between 2007 and 2009, and that almost none of the city's greenhouse gas reductions came from the transportation sector.

October 5, 2010 - Streetsblog

New York City Given Power to Clean Up Brownfields

New York City has garnered new powers to institute cleanups on moderately contaminated sites, which could help revive hundreds of spots in the city that have sat empty or unused for years.

October 5, 2010 - The Architect's Newspaper

Smart Growth Brain Trust

A new law in New York State requires state agencies to form smart growth advisory panels to determine whether proposed infrastructure projects meet smart-growth principles.

October 4, 2010 - City Newspaper

The False Safety of Bike Lanes

Cyclist Rachel Brown put out a video recently to prove that bike lanes make her commute more dangerous, not less, because they create a false sense of security. Streetsblog reacts.

October 4, 2010 - YouTube

Counting Foot Traffic in Times Square

The BBC talks with some of the people involved with counting pedestrians in New York City's Times Square. Since being closed off to cars, foot traffic has greatly increased.

October 1, 2010 - BBC

Brooklyn Bridge Park's Evolving Role

As a new park near the Brooklyn Bridge gradually opens in New York, the role it plays in public life in the city is already evolving.

September 30, 2010 - Urban Omnibus

Teaching Interaction Design to High Schoolers

Two interaction design students in New York are starting a 10-week after school program that is trying to teach high school kids design skills that they can use in their communities.

September 27, 2010 - Urban Omnibus

The Predictability of Humans in Public Spaces

Jan Gehl sits down with Greg Linsday to talk about his new book, Cities for People, if Phoenix could take lessons from New York, and "the needs of the urban habitat of homo sapiens."

September 26, 2010 - Fast Company

Broadway's "Self-Reinforcing Cycle"

In the last 2 years, New York's Broadway has given up 3.5 miles of traffic lanes and parking to bike lanes and pedestrian access, and gained a significant improvement in congestion and accident rates.

September 24, 2010 - New Urban Network

Turning Landfill into Landscape

The Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island is slowly being transformed into a major new park for New York. Eventually it will be three times the size of Central Park.

September 23, 2010 - Bloomberg News

Bikers Behaving Badly: Is Street Design to Blame?

Cyclists who disobey traffic laws are the No. 1 police complaint among residents of Manhattan's Upper East Side. Could the built environment be the real culprit?

September 20, 2010 - New Urban Network

After Urban Renewal, Learning From New York City

Mary Newsom reviews a new book on New York City by Roberta Brandez Gratz, and finds lessons that cross borders even into her very different city of Charlotte.

September 20, 2010 - The Charlotte Observer

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.