United States
Feeding the Hungry from the Backyard
One solution to urban food security is surprisingly simple: gathering fruit from backyard trees.
The Challenges of Shrinking Cities
Mayor Bing of Detroit has announced an intention to "right-size" the city. Ed Glaeser talks about what that might mean.
High Speed Rail Sprawl
Some planners are warning that high speed rail could spur exurban growth and sprawl.
CO2 'Domes' Pose Problems for Cities
New research suggests that huge domes of carbon dioxide hover over urban areas, which is prompting some scientists and policymakers to stress the importance of cities as the frontlines of the war on greenhouse gas emissions.
Freeways Responsible For Emptying Out Cities
A recent study shows that for every significant freeway that gets built in a major city, population declines by about 18%. Nathaniel Baum-Snow, author of the study, talks with Planetizen.
New Argument for Public Transit: Better for Texting?
In a recent piece in Wired, Clive Thompson suggests that the solution to the problem of texting while driving is not to stop texting, but to stop driving. The popularity of texting is a good reason to support public transit.
Why do People Choose to Ride Transit?
Do certain kinds of people - students, elderly, environmentalists - choose to ride transit because of who they are? Or does the proper infrastructure make the difference?
Finding Solutions for the Colorado River Delta Problem
The Colorado River Delta is in tough shape once it ventures into Mexico. But now, a group of NGOs and local governments are showing how the sensitive area can be kept clean.
The Fleeting American Dream
The American Dream is a concept that's had a rough go for the past few years. A new survey shows that nearly two-thirds of Americans don't think that dream can become reality.
'Sea-Change' Coming To Transportation Planning
That's what Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood wrote in his blog after attending the League of Bicyclist's 10th Anniversary Summit, March 9-11 in D.C. And he means it - as reflected in the DOT's Policy Statement on bike and ped accommodations.
The High Costs of America's Aging Water Infrastructure
As part of its extensive coverage of water issues in the U.S., The New York Times looks at the aging water systems that plague American cities and what it would cost to fix them.
TIGER Grants May Take Transit Off Endangered List
Less money for highways, more for transit and "complete streets" - New Urban News takes a look at where the $1.5 billion TIGER grants are going.
"Real Simple" Cities That Save Time
Real Simple magazine offers its survey of America's top "time saving" cities, or those that make getting around and getting things done as easy (and green) as possible.
Green Features Aren't Selling Houses
Green housing features like solar roofs and angled walls add cost to a development, and lenders don't see added value. So as CNN reports, green housing currently faces a stiff market.
Ghetto-ization: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Density
At first glance, the historic Ghetto streetscene in Venice is an appealing new urbanist community. In another place at another time, the virtues of compact, walkable and dense were the very isolation we now abhor.
The Town That Lives Online Only
Elgin Park is a small city that doesn't exist. But online, through a series of photographs created from tiny models in the house of one Massachusetts man, the time-frozen industrial town of the mid-'60s has come to life.
How Prisoners Skew the Census
At Census time, America's prisoners have typically been counted as residents of the places they are imprisoned. But with nearly 1% of the U.S. population behind bars, where they're counted is counting more to the urban areas they came from.
Charting Public Data Via Google
Google has launched a new experimental effort to visualize much of the public data it now searches and displays.
Fossil Fuels Getting Massive Federal Subsidies, Renewables Not So Much
President Obama has proposed eliminating federal subsidies for fossil fuels in 2011, but for now they're still a $72 billion piece of the pie. Solar, wind and geothermal? $12.2 billion.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
