World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
Confusing Access and Mobility
Transportation planner Jarrett Walker, on why transportation planners can't stop applying freeway concepts to transit and the important difference between access and mobility.
The Magic of the Grid
A new book by Hannah Higgins seeks to show that the history of modern society is based on the grid.
Communicating Codes Through Song
When working a charrette in Jamaica, architect Steve Mouzon inadvertently inspired local children to set a recommendation for urban farming to song.
Free Tools to Connect Your City
Why build your own? There are several free web applications out there that help cities interface with their citizens. Christian Madera picks the best.
Friday Funny: The Ultimate SimCity
Behold Magnasanti, the ultimate city built using the SimCity game with no cheats, with a population of 9 million residents.
U.S. Armed Forces Predicting Peak Oil
Surplus oil production capacity could go away in the next two years and shortages could get serious by 2015, says a new report from the U.S. Joint Forces.
Transportation Technologies and Expectations
The optimal transportation systems of the future will not be the result of utopian reinvention, but of incremental technological revolutions, opines Michael Schrage.
Recognizing and Addressing Safety Issues for Women in Cities
Safety is a major concern for the world's women on a day-to-day basis. From riding the bus to walking at night, if women don't feel safe, they won't do it. Cities need to take a more active role in addressing this challenge, according to this post.
The Agora from Athens to Atlanta: Public Space as Marketplace, Park and Center of Urban Life
The popularity of the agora, or central marketplace, has waxed and waned throughout the centuries. Park designer Richard Light looks back at the history and meaning of the agora from Ancient Greece to today.
Productivity Through Density
People naturally want to be near each other, which some suggest is one explanation for the increasing urbanization and densification of the world. Edward L. Glaeser argues that the information-based economy will push that trend even further.
The Rise of Soft Infrastructure
Infrastructure is undeniably important to our cities and places, but a new kind of infrastructure -- soft infrastructure -- is becoming increasingly important.
Solution for Shrinking Cities: Art and Parks
After unification, many East German towns began losing jobs and population. In 2003, the government formed a group to study how these cities could best recover. The results are in.
Art and the Built Environment
Artist Roberto Mollá finds inspiration in the urbanity of Tokyo, and the isolation of city life.
Cable Cars See Increased Usage As Transit In Developing World
Low-cost, high capacity urban gondolas and cable cars are being successfully used as public transit and tools of urban revitalization in Colombia, Algeria and other parts of the developing world.
How the Internet is Improving Your Walkshed
Worldchanging's Alex Steffen reflects on the increasing impact of Internet-enabled information sharing at the community level, and suggests that it's helping to make neighborhoods more walkable.
The Future of the Urban Biking Experience
Treehugger lists five of the coming innovations that experts expect to revolutionize urban bicycling.
Global Leaders Discuss the Mutual Challenges of Urbanization
The recent World Urban Forum in Brazil attracted media from around the world, but surprisingly few from the U.S. But as Neal Peirce writes, that doesn't mean the U.S. government wasn't involved.
The Evolution of GIS
Thomas L. Millette looks back at how far GIS has come, and how it has become an essential tool for urban planning.
How Fungi Can Restore the Land
Mycologist Paul Stamets believes that mycelium, a fungi, could be integral to restoring damaged soil, repairing habitats, and even cleaning brownfields.
What Can A Planner Learn From 2 Hours on Chatroulette?
Jennifer Evans-Cowley, Phd, AICP, spends a couple of hours exploring the phenomenon that is chatroulette.com. Chatroulette sets you up to videochat with a complete stranger. Are there applications for the future of public participation in planning?
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
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
