Texas
Can a City Have Too Much Transportation Network?
Yonah Freemark critiques a planned expansion to Dallas' already-extensive highway network, arguing that it undermines billions of dollars in light rail investment and sets its downtown on a path of stunted growth.
No, Seriously: The Long Haul to Work is Not Easy On Your Body
Nate Berg uncovers yet another study matching long commutes to poor health, from low fitness to high blood pressure.
Houston Embraces Saddle of a Different Sort
Launched this week, Houston's first bike share program is seen as a significant step in helping to dispel "Houston's national reputation as an uncongenial, sprawling metropolis," reports Allan Turner.
A Growth Engine, Done In by the Development It Inspired
Robin Pogrebin sheds light on a thorny conflict between a high-rise condo in Dallas, Texas and the museum it named itself after.
Surprising Support for More Mass Transit in Houston
A survey tracking Houstonian opinions for three decades has found that the most striking change in the car-centric city is an embrace of an urban lifestyle led by support for more mass transit options and less reliance on cars, reports Jeannie Kever.
Exposing How Publicly Subsidized Housing in Texas Encourages Segregation
Texas has come under scrutiny for a pattern of developing low-income housing projects in areas already suffering from poverty and blight. Karisa King describes how the NIMBY mentality is reinforced by the subsidization system.
What Would an Independent Republic of Texas Look Like?
With mockumentary-style coverage, NPR's John Burnett imagines the trials of a state's secession.
El Paso Charts Ambitious Course to a Smarter Greener Future
After a two-year effort, the City of El Paso adopted a new comprehensive plan this week. Based on smart growth and sustainability principles, author Kaid Benfield calls it "among the best, most articulate comprehensive plans" he's ever seen.
Texas Confronts the Cost of Its Green Dreams
Matthew Tresaugue reports on the difficulties Texas cities such as College Station are having in living up to their green commitments in the down economy, reflecting a nationwide pattern.
Robotic Convenience Store Debuts in the U.S.
Popular in such countries as the Netherlands and Japan for some time, the first full service vending machine to be located in an apartment community in the United States has arrived in Fort Worth, Texas, reports Tim Blackwell.
An Injection of Urbanism in the Land of Sprawl
Anthony Flint reports on the Buffalo Bayou restoration project in Houston, where a remarkably green sensibility has infused the capital of fossil fuels.
Houston Densifies and Diversifies Housing
It's been over 12 years since Houston last planned for denser development patterns, but an updated code is on the way to lure an ever growing population away from the suburbs.
A Profile of the Most Conservative Zip Code in Texas
Highland Park, ZIP code 75205, represents the top of the 1% in Texas, and is the most enthusiastically Republican community in the country.
US Population Growth Rate Stagnates With Economy
The recession is taking its toll on the nation's population growth rate. A lagging birth rate and a precipitous drop in immigration, particularly those entering the country illegally, resulted in a 0.7% growth rate. Immigration is at a 20-year low.
LA Artist Reopens Derelict JC Penney As Art Complex
An LA based artist is about reopen a 100,000 square foot disused JC Penney as an arts complex in West Houston. The former West Oaks Mall anchor had been vacant for two years before becoming the focus of the new rehab concept.
Population Growth Slows Dramatically in California, Including Fewer Births
Not only are more Californians leaving the state for greener pastures than those moving to it, but the birth rate is dropping as well according to a detailed new demographic report by county on 2010-2011 growth by the state Department of Finance.
Pile-Up on the Trans-Texas Corridor
What happened to the Trans-Texas Corridor, the 10-lane, privately-funded toll road/high-speed train/fiberoptic cable-laden highway to the 21st century promised by Rick Perry in 2002?
Wealthy Developer Finds Money to Fund Freeway Project, Despite Opposition
Houston's third outerbelt, the Grand Parkway, continues to move forward despite an outpouring of opposition, highlighting the special, institutionalized role real estate developers play in transportation decisions in Texas, writes Angie Schmitt.
Planting Parks to Remedy Blight
"Redfields to Greenfields," a project currently being developed at Georgia Tech in partnership with City Parks Alliance advocacy group, would convert empty commercial sites into parks, writes Nate Berg for The Atlantic Cities.
VIA Clashes With San Antonio City Council Over Wireless Streetcar Plan
VIA Metropolitan Transit Company met with the city council regarding future plans involving a new streetcar line. According to Vianna Davila, "VIA must drastically change its streetcar proposal if it wants the city to help pay for the project."
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
