World

Global issues, U.N., etc.

Exclusive: Urban Planning Reaches Out to "Dummies"

For Dummies, the ubiquitous reference series, has recently released its first book dedicated entirely to Urban Planning. Planetizen spoke recently with author Jordan Yin about the book, its audience, and what he hopes to provide for readers.

March 19, 2012 - Amazon

Bringing Value to Low-Cost Housing

Ron Nyren looks at 10 affordable housing developments across the world completed in the last five years that demonstrate good design and low-cost housing are not mutually exclusive.

March 17, 2012 - Urban Land

Communicating Character Through Streetcars

Mark Byrnes takes the global streetcar renaissance as an opportunity to reflect on how their design symbolizes a city's common interests and sense of itself.

March 17, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Friday Funny: Accessorizing Your City's New Hot Ride

John Metcalfe has "designed" what he thinks could be the "Ultimate Municipal Supertruck of the Future."

March 16, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Are Satellite Cities the Smart Alternative to Urban Sprawl or Pie in the Sky?

Kai Laursen argues for satellite cities as a promising alternative to accommodate population growth, while preserving open space and farmland, and minimizing urban sprawl.

March 16, 2012 - Urban Land

Planners and Computer Nerds Rejoice at the Return of SimCity

After a decade of absence, Maxis, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts, has announced plans to release an updated version of SimCity, the pioneering urban planning computer game, in 2013.

March 15, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Calling for an Architecture of Place

Fred Kent, of the Project for Public Spaces, wades into the debate over architecture and design criticism with an affirmation of the importance of place, buttressing his argument with five successful contemporary buildings, and a Hall of Shame.

March 14, 2012 - Project For Public Spaces

Urban Furniture That Rocks

Web Urbanist has published a fun post featuring examples of unconventional urban furniture. If you're tired of the same old boring bus benches and park picnic tables, these interactive, comfortable, and visually interesting pieces should inspire you.

March 14, 2012 - Web Urbanist

What's the Big Deal With 'Big Data'?

Ben Hecht contemplates the currency of the digital age and how it will transform the cities we live in.

March 14, 2012 - Living Cities

World Poverty Declines Despite Recession

Defying logic, as the world entered recession its poorest made inroads out of "extreme poverty" according to a new World Bank report. In 2009 a similar report predicted just the opposite would happen due to recession. Why the improvement?

March 13, 2012 - The New York Times - World

Do You Know How Big Your City Is?

Samuel Arbesman pens a fascinating piece in The Atlantic Cities analyzing our subjective concepts of scale and context in relation to our ideas about the importance and size of cities.

March 10, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Highlighting Women in Architecture, on International Women’s Day

Anyone who's seen Google's homepage doodle today may be aware that it's International Women's Day. C.C. Sullivan has taken the day as an opportunity to celebrate women in architecture and to highlight related events taking place.

March 8, 2012 - SmartPlanet

What Can Be Done to Fight the Rise of Visual Pollution?

Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg interviews Gwenaëlle Gobé, director of a new film called This Space Available, which seeks to document the rise of "visual pollution" and those who are fighting to stop it.

March 8, 2012 - The Atlantic

Are Driverless Cars and Complete Streets on a Collision Course?

David Alpert tamps down the recent enthusiasm for the coming age of the self-driving car by asking what its impact will be on pedestrians and street life.

March 8, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

From Landscape to Soundscape in Urban Placemaking

Chuck Wolfe outlines the importance of soundscapes to cities past, present and future, and describes efforts to both document urban sounds and use sound as a planning tool.

March 7, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Construction Industry Embraces the iPad

A unique new iPad applicaion, called PlanGrid, provides for accessing, viewing and updating construction blueprints at a job site, and demonstrates the larger trend of specialization in iOS software development, reports Ingrid Lunden.

March 6, 2012 - Tech Crunch

Leveraging the Wisdom of Crowds through Participatory Platforms

New technologies are providing participatory platforms that allow individuals to share their ideas, interact with other's ideas, and work towards collaborative solutions to resolve problems or take advantage of opportunities. Kevin C. Desouza, PhD offers five guidelines to ensure that the use of such emerging technologies are maximized by practitioners.

March 5, 2012 - Kevin C. Desouza

Where It Pays To Be A Woman

To mark the upcoming anniversary of International Women's Day, Sarah Morrison investigates the best and worst places around the world to be a woman.

March 5, 2012 - The Independent

In the Inevitable World of the Self-Driving Car, How Will An Intersection Work?

Yes, the subject may seem a little dry at first, but have a look at the intersection modeling shown in Emily Badger's recent article to see what continuously flowing traffic looks like at an intersection. A brave new world indeed.

March 4, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Architecture Reborn, Through Public Interest Design

John Cary doesn't mourn the "death of architecture" prophesied by many, but rather sees it as an opportunity to refocus the profession for the benefit of society.

February 29, 2012 - Good

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.