Texas
Can a Canadian Company Condemn Your Land?
TransCanada is trying to use eminent domain to obtain easements from unwilling landowners for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
Native Grasses Meet the Burbs
In an obviously difficult market for new housing, Cross Creek Ranch is standing out from the pack with a master-planned community that restores a degraded dirt parcel to a native landscape.
More Drivers Pumping Less Fuel In California & U.S.
Since 2002, California has added 8.3% more drivers while reducing its gasoline consumption by 3.5%. And while taking the lead, they are not alone in this trend. Credit high fuel prices, economic stress and improved car technology for the reduction.
Austin Releases An All Encompassing New 30 Year Plan
The city of Austin has released a new 197 page planning document to manage its population growth and inform planning decisions for the next three decades.
Funds Scarce for Texas' Water Conservation Plans
Texas is getting dryer and dryer--and the costs to implement water delivery projects only go up as localities and regions scramble to secure the bulk of the funds necessary to build them. Ramit Plushnick-Masti reports.
Urban Village Rising in El Paso
Montecillo, a 293-acre 'urban village', is the first development to take advantage of El Paso's new Smart Code. The project launched in May, and the developer is already preparing to get Phase 2 off the ground.
Drugs and Economic Success in El Paso
El Paso is seen as one of the more successful mid-sized cities in the U.S. But as this op-ed from Domus explores, the fuel behind that success is the drug trafficking that has plagued Mexico and its border with the U.S.
$417 Million To Fund Highway Projects
Last week, the Federal Highway Administration awarded discretionary highway grants in what could be among the last expenditures before the Sept. 30 expiration of the gas tax. Included were $8m for Value Pricing Pilot Program projects in 5 states.
Texas Infrastructure Under Gov. Perry
Now that Gov. Perry has declared his candidacy for President, the Houston Chronicle has begun a series of articles to spotlight how infrastructure has fared under the state's longest serving governor. Transportation is the focus of the first report.
Making Places in Houston
Houston is leading the way in creating new public spaces. This article from The Project for Public Spaces looks at a few of the city's efforts.
Placemaking Capital of the U.S.: Houston?
The Project for Public Spaces says that despite its reputation as a sprawling, planning-free city, Houston is turning the lack of city planning to its advantage by inspiring a bottom-up approach.
Quality Housing Stands the Test of Time
Patrick Kennedy stresses the importance of quality over quantity in residential housing by comparing houses in McKinney, North Texas, with those on Swiss Avenue near Downtown Dallas.
Does Dallas-Fort Worth's Urban Form Affect Its Music Scene?
Observer music writers Pete Freeman and Daniel Hopkins debate the affects of suburban sprawl on the local music scene.
BP Bankrolls $1 Billion to Restore Texas Wetlands
Created by President Obama in response to the BP oil spill last summer, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Task Force is now working on a project that restores the flow of sediments to wetlands in Texas. Funding from BP helps facilitate the costly process.
A 'Drought-Proof' City
By focusing on reducing water use to levels that could be served by its two water sources, the city of El Paso, Texas, has been able to quench its thirst without running dry.
Developers Balk at New Landscape Code
Last week, the El Paso City Council approved a new city ordinance that broadens restrictions on landscaping in new developments. Opponents say the restrictions will discourage growth.
Emergence in Public Parks
The sudden appearance of a ping pong table in a public park in Dallas is a perfect example of the concept of emergence in cities, according to this post on Pegasus News.
The Social Life of Dallas City Hall Plaza
Filmmaker Aaron Garcia uses narration from William H. Whyte's classic The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces to highlight the failings of the I.M. Pei-designed Dallas City Hall Plaza.
Houston: City of the Year?
Fast Company chooses Houston as its 2011 City of the Year, citing its sense of opportunity and general affordability as the major reasons for its selection.
Houston Roadway Would Fuel Growth, Harm Migratory Birds
Plans to build a parkway around Houston will help ease traffic and spur growth in the region, but it will also run right through a key stopover point for millions of migrating birds.
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
