World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
Planetizen Picks: Top Twitter Feeds on Urban Planning
Updated for Fall 2010, Planetizen's picks for the best news and observations about urban planning, design and development available on Twitter. Check out the new section of high-speed rail links, and visit our sister site www.hsrnews.com.
Virtual Billboards, Courtesy of Google
A patent filed by Google in 2008 illustrates a process where ads could be placed on buildings, marquees and billboards in Google Street View.
Cruise Ship Utopia
The cruise ship Utopia will be a $1.1 billion dollar party boat that includes 200 homes for sale for $3.7 million and up. That is, if they can get enough buyers in a tough market.
Hot Architectural Style: Volcano-esque
Fast Company notes a growing number of green building proposals that look exactly like volcanoes.
A Bright Outlook For Freight Railroads
While rail is known to be much greener than its competitor long-distance trucking, it is also a key component to globalization and big-box retail. This article spotlights the growth of Burlington Northern Santa Fe RR and the Port of Los Angeles.
Smart Growth From the Environmental Perspective
Kaid Benfield of the NRDC reviews The Smart Growth Manual by Andres Duany, Jeff Speck and Mike Lydon. Benfield gives it high marks for style and substance, and for the way it incorporates environmental issues.
Can Ailing Cities Attract the Creative Class?
In a scathing critique of Richard Florida, reporter Alec MacGillis claims that Florida's creative class strategies haven't worked for ailing cities around the country. Florida counters that the recession has changed the landscape.
Can Thorium Save Us?
Thorium is much cleaner, more efficient and safe than uranium, and doesn't leave any waste that can be weaponized. Could a thorium-based nuclear power industry save the U.S.?
Bureaucratic Structures and the Collapse of Modern Society
Triple Canopy interviews architectural historian Kazys Varnelis about the importance of city data, the difficulty of building new infrastructure and how best to react to a stiflingly complex society.
New Hydrogen Tech May Eliminate CO2 Problem
The current means of generating hydrogen for fuel results in a release of carbon dioxide emissions. Researchers think aluminum may be the solution to the pollution.
New Techniques for Preventing Levee Breaches
Breached levees are a major concern for riverside cities; New Orleans struggled with their disastrous results after Hurricane Katrina. While shoring and sandbagging have been relied upon in the past, new methods for stopping breaches are emerging.
Sub-Urban Planning
Triple Canopy translates a Chinese interview with Shu Yu, one of the world's foremost underground urban planners. He talks about the potential of underground space for urban habitation.
Urban Data: The Second City
Looking at the city of Chicago and how it should approach the future, John Tolva writes about the potential for tapping into city data and embracing the "second city" it creates.
Biggest Infrastructure News of the Decade - Part Two
The Infrastructurist finishes its list of the top infrastructure stories from the past decade.
Biggest Infrastructure News of the Decade
In the first of two installments, The Infrastructurist counts down the top ten infrastructure stories from the past decade.
Disconnected from Society? Gated Communities: Their Lifestyle versus Urban Governance
Peer Smets (VU University Amsterdam) investigates the socio-cultural impacts of specific patterns of urban segregation (gated communities) on local urban politics and urban governance.
Doubt in Architecture
Architect Steven Holl's new book is a retrospective of his 30-year career, and an overview of his argument that architecture needs an element of doubt.
Look into the Crystal Ball
Next American City asked prominent urban thinkers for their opinions on what 2010 will hold for the world. Here are their responses.
2009 in Trains, Planes, Boats, Bikes, and More
Treehugger has a look at the best and worst transportation technology of 2009, from solar planes to bike highways.
Pagination
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