Features

A transcript of the recent live webchat with Dowell Myers, PhD about the changing demographics of the U.S. as they relate to urban planning.

Say you're a big city. But right next door is an even bigger big city. What do you do to stand out? Josh Stephens explores the unique plight of America's so-called stepsister cities.

A transcript of the recent live webchat with John Renne, PhD, and Jeff Wood, experts on transit oriented development.

Development typically found only in large urban areas is increasingly popping up in smaller towns and rural areas, posing problems to municipalities as they try to adapt. After visiting many of these small towns in a recent cross-country trip, Wayne Senville discusses some of the challenges they face as the scope of development evolves.

The green building standard LEED is moving beyond the structure and into the neighborhood. With the pilot phase of LEED for Neighborhood Development now underway, its organizers hope to establish a new way to create and evaluate environmental sustainability in urban design and development.

Urban development, demolition, and redevelopment has been a century-long pattern in Salt Lake City, Utah. As the city again ventures into a massive redevelopment project, former planning director Stephen Goldsmith wants the community to take a new look at what this change means for the city. And he's created a museum to help them do it.

An American transportation planner reports from the 17th annual Polis Conference -- where European city leaders recently gathered to exchange advice on innovative local transportation strategies -- and wonders what lessons U.S. cities can learn from its counterparts in the E.U.

In honor of Landscape Architecture Month, we present three profiles of professional landscape architects Dennis Carmichael, FASLA, Melissa Marie Evans, ASLA, and Steve Martino, FASLA. Learn what influenced them to enter the field, what work they have been doing, and what advice they have to offer others interested in landscape architecture.

Many say Los Angeles is a city that grew without any rational planning. In reality the planning was there -- but much of the best planning never quite materialized. A perfect example is the 1970 Concept Los Angeles plan -- a vision of what the city could have looked like and now a history lesson for planners. For the first time, it is available in digital format for free download on Planetizen.

Rodney Swink, past president of the American Society of Landscape Architects, celebrates the role of landscape architecture in shaping the built and natural environment.

As part of monthly series, we present a summary and analysis of some of the most interesting news to appear on Planetizen over the month of November 2006. This is the transcript of an audio segment that originally aired on the nationally syndicated radio program "Smart City".

By hosting public outreach sessions and design clinics with registered landscape architects, Atlanta-area non-profit Park Pride is giving communities an active role in creating a new vision for their neighborhood greenspaces.

The inaugural conference of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) was held on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ from October 4-6, 2006. With over 650 registered participants, the conference was the largest campus sustainability gathering to date in North America.

According to a new study, even with the proposed changes to MARTA and metro Atlanta's freeway infrastructure, traffic congestion could soon rival that of greater Los Angeles, if significant changes aren't made soon.

American cities suffer from outdated infrastructure that inhibits the local economy and quality of life. Those cities that can evolve to meet the needs of the information age will be the ones to prosper immensely in the next 10-20 years.

Planetizen talks with city planning officials to get an insider's perspective on the planning issues facing cities. In this interview, John M. Dugan, Director of Planning for the City of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, discusses the planning issues facing his city.

As part of monthly series, we present a summary and analysis of some of the most interesting news to appear on Planetizen over the month of October 2006. This is the transcript of an audio segment that originally aired on the nationally syndicated radio program "Smart City".