United States
Post Peak Driving, America Needs a Road (Construction) Diet
Though it may be too soon to say for sure, it looks like the United States has reached peak driving. So shouldn’t we cut back on new road construction?
Clarifying the Conservation Subdivision Design Approach
After a recent scholarly article raising questions about the definition of conservation subdivisions, Randall Arendt, author of "Conservation Design for Subdivisions" and "Growing Greener," wrote the following response.
Exploring Architecture with Oscar-Nominated Director Steve McQueen
Many filmmakers are concerned with set making, but not architecture. Steve McQueen, Best Director nominee for 12 Years a Slave (which is also nominated for Best Picture) has made a career of examining the role of architecture in building narrative.
Taxis v. Uber: A Regulatory Update
Are rideshare companies like Uber here to stay? The answer likely hinges on a series of legal battles taking place nationwide.
Defending Urban Freeways At All Costs Ignores the Potential of Cities
When freeways are dismantled, economic, and social benefits often follow. A mid-20th Century mechanistic view fails to understand such outcomes.
Ranking the Top Movies About Urbanism
The Oscars are this weekend, so its an appropriate time to turn to movie magic as a powerful force for how American’s perceive environments—from rural to urban and everything between.
America’s Fastest-Growing Cities
Forbes recently released its annual list of America’s Fastest-Growing Cities. The list considers both population and economy.
How Agenda 21 Trumps Planning
Agenda 21, a nonbinding United Nations resolution signed in 1992 by 170 world leaders, was developed to encourage "sustainable development." Now it’s a political talking point that kills planning efforts all over the country.
Crude by Rail Declared 'Imminent Hazard' by Federal Regulators
The full declaration on CBR by DOT regulators was “an imminent hazard to public health and safety and the environment." An immediate safety order was issued requiring vigorous testing of crude and prohibition of use of some tanker cars.
New Urban Math
To forge a coalition for urban places, let’s start by trumpeting an important fact: The value of cities and towns transcends simple arithmetic.
Ranking America's Safest Suburbs
Movoto Real Estate figured it was time to see just which suburbs can still claim to be safer than their big city neighbors.
Obama Pitching $300 Billion Plan to Fix Nation’s Roads, Bridges
The White House announced its intentions to propose a $300 billion plan to “address the funding crisis facing our surface transportation programs and to increase infrastructure investment.”
Why 'Google Buses' Are Bad for Cities
Tech buses deployed by companies like Google and Apple bring the benefit of more collective transportation. But there's an underlying dark side to these services that must be discussed.
12 Strategies for Revitalizing Downtowns
Even cities without an official program for revitalizing their downtowns can take steps to transform their urban cores into a collection of vibrant places. The urbanSCALE website has collected a list of such strategies.
Millennials Moving to Cities; Older Generations Staying Put
Millennials are moving to cities around the country in era-defining numbers but so far, Generation X and Baby Boomers are mostly staying put. Is the millennial in-migration to cities a flash in the pan?
Mapping GDP—Urban Areas and Everything Else
An intrepid Reddit user has produced a striking visualization for the economic importance of the country’s urban areas by splitting the nation’s GDP into two—the top 50 percent and the lower 50 percent.
The Inequality Problem of America’s Cities
A new report by Brookings confirms that “big cities remain more unequal places by income than the rest of the country.” Where is the gap between wealth and poverty the greatest?
U.S. Energy Secretary on CBR: 'Switch to Pipelines'
Ernest Moniz weighs-in on the exponential, and at times, explosive (literally) growth of moving crude oil by rail (CBR). His main point: pipelines are safer than rail. Science magazine editor Marcia McNutt points to pipelines' environmental benefits.
Shipping Container Farms Save Water, Enable Year-Round Growth
Shipping container houses are all the rage right now. So why not a shipping container farm?
Driverless Cars: A Boon to the Federal Budget?
The federal government is notorious for putting off road improvements. The good news? If driverless cars become a reality, they can keep putting them off—forever.
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie
