World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
Base Your Transit Investment Arguments on Agglomeration
Forget reducing congestion and improving the environment; a new paper makes perhaps the strongest argument yet for investing in public transit based on its ability to agglomerate, or cluster people together, raising wages and productivity.
Building Resilience Through Reconnected Communities
What has the United States lost in its journey from a nation of communities to a nation of individuals? Resilience, for one, says Scott Doyon, who suggests how we can utilize community design and planning processes to regrow social ties.
Newest Target for Hackers: Homes and Cars
As the 'Internet of Things' spreads its tentacles into more and more of our personal objects and public spaces, experts are warning of the serious, and potentially lethal, vulnerability of networked devices to hacking.
Top 10 Websites - 2013
Our annual list of the 10 best planning, design, and development websites represents some of the top online resources for news, information and research on the built environment.
Construction Toys: The Building Blocks of Design Culture
A recent book explores the ways in which the world's ubiquitous construction toys - Lincoln Logs, Legos, Meccano, etc. - have impacted budding architects, and proposes a connection between building for play and building for pay.
The Danger in Transportation Fantasizing
We hear a lot about the next leap forward in transportation, whether it be Elon Musk's Hyperloop or Tel Aviv's floating pods. But in focusing on the latest fantasy, are we harming our ability to address the problems of the present?
Sustainability: What’s In a Word?
The term "sustainability" carries so much baggage that we're no longer able to talk about what we actually need to talk about. What can we do to depoliticize it?
Old School Strategies for Outreach and Communication
Looking to leverage cheap and easy social media tools to meet your citizen engagement mandate? Read. This. Now.
The Positive Energy Potential of Suburban Sprawl
What if most cars were electrics, most electricity was generated locally, and new development was required to have solar? Would this paradigm make sprawl more energy sustainable than compact growth? A new paper argues yes.
Unrealized City Plans a Window on a Future That Would Not Be
Blogger Andrew Lynch’s collection of unrealized city plans is a catalog of could-have-beens.
The History of Modern Architecture Told Through Hollywood's Lens
Does an inordinate amount of your knowledge come from films? Then you might take pleasure in Zachary Edelson's romp through the past hundred and twenty years of architectural history as told through motion pictures.
Republicans Back Urgent Climate Action
Four former EPA heads in Republican administrations, from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush, have penned an op-ed in The Times calling on members of all parties to support President Obama's recent climate initiatives and do more to curtail warming.
Are Cost Estimators Bad at Their Jobs?
San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center is just the latest example of an urban mega-project experiencing an enormous cost overrun. Eric Jaffe examines what the causes of this all too common phenomenon might be.
What is the Ideal Catchment Area for TODs?
The half-mile circle has become the standard metric for focusing planning efforts and judging the impacts of transit-oriented development. A new study examines whether the half-mile circle is an effective predictor of TOD success.
How to Navigate Night Cycling
For those who have embraced cycling for leisure or their daily commute, being comfortable biking at night in urban environs may be the final frontier. Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan offers some tips for navigating darkened streets in style and safety.
Driverless Cars Steer Us Away From a Carless Future
Discussions over the potential benefits and drawbacks of driverless cars seemingly overlook one important question, says Allison Arieff: "[W]hy continue to design and plan for a car-based society?"
Is High-Speed Rail Safe?
For anyone who has ridden in a high-speed train, the idea of a derailment is terrifying. Last week's crash of an Alvia train in Spain made such fears seem less irrational. Yonah Freemark examines whether high-speed rail is a safe mode of travel.
Can You Identify a City Solely by the Location of Its Starbucks?
We've found this week's ultimate time-waster! Slate has developed a map quiz that asks participants to guess which city is being depicted based solely on the geography of its Starbucks locations.
The Impact of Memory on the Experience of Place
Charles Montgomery discusses the findings of a fascinating study on the responses of residents and visitors to different environments in New York, Berlin and Mumbai. The results hint at the impact of experience and memory on how we perceive a place.
'Starchitect': Making Use of an Overused Term
As much as architects and critics may hate the term, "we are going to be stuck with 'starchitect' until everybody with a keyboard agrees to retire it," says Guy Horton. So how can architects - star or not - make the term work for them?
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
