Planning

Troubles In Dubai

10 December 2008 - 11:24pm

During my fifteen-year consulting career I have worked for dozens of clients in numerous countries on every continent except Antarctica (I’m still waiting for a penguin transport management contract). One of this year’s clients was the government of Dubai. It has been interesting, challenging and often frustrating. Colleagues frequently ask about it, since many are considering similar work. Let me describe my experiences there.

Seeking Harmony in Chinese Planning

Effective planning creates harmonious environments, according to this piece from Xinhua. Most Chinese planners, the author argues, have not embraced this idea.
9 November 2008 - 5:00am
Xinhua

Planning: The Solution America Needs

As part of a series in Harper's on how to save capitalism, James K. Galbraith argues that America can fix many of its economic troubles with better planning -- urban planning, infrastructure planning, and financial planning.
6 November 2008 - 2:00pm
Harper's

This Couldn’t Have Happened at a Better Time

5 November 2008 - 6:06pm

The United States has been reborn. The election of Barack Obama has put – or reintroduced – the United States to the world stage as a beacon of hope for all people. We have proven that we believe and embody the ideals of equality and equal opportunity and that these ideals are the right of every citizen and not just a few. More importantly, this election is a ray of hope for our nation. We advanced the fight against racism to elect the first black president of the United States. Barack Obama’s election also gives hope to Americans as we witness and feel the stinging affects of the economic and housing crises, the energy crisis and two wars.

Inside the Mind of the Anti-Planner

Next American City chats with Randal O'Toole -- the "Anti-Planner" -- about the problems of planning and what makes the ideal city.
28 October 2008 - 7:00am
Next American City

A Planner's Prayer

3 October 2008 - 12:48pm
A PLANNER’S PRAYER

Next week, Jews around the world (including myself) will spend the day in synagogue for Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement.  On that day, we will pray for forgiveness for our sins.  One Yom Kippur prayer, the Al Chet (Hebrew for “for the sin”) lists a variety of sins, requesting Divine forgiveness for each. (One English translation can be found at www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/6577/jewish/Text-of-Al-Chet.htm )

Enough With the Planning, it's Time for Some Doing

This column from the Globe and Mail expresses some common frustrations with a slow-moving regional transportation plan.
28 September 2008 - 11:00am
Globe and Mail

More Two-Wheeled Parking

The city of Cincinnati is launching a new pilot program to introduce on-street parking options for scooters, mopeds, bicycles and other two-wheeled transportation alternatives.
13 September 2008 - 7:00am
Cincinnati Business Courier

Architects Say Planners Waste Their Time

According to a recent survey of architects in Ireland, 80% think that local planning decisions do not support good design and are essentially a waste of time.
18 July 2008 - 12:00pm
The Irish Times

Mexicans, Machines and Place

9 July 2008 - 12:23pm

The newest Drew Carey video at Reason.tvMexicans and Machines: Why Its Time to Lay Off NAFTA—is (IMHO) brilliant, and triggered more than a couple of thoughts about how technology and progress creates practical challenges for planning.

A Journalistic View of Cities

26 June 2008 - 8:19am

I was reading the New York Times Magazine special architecture issue a few weeks ago when something jumped out at me. On the intro page to the issue of the “Mega-Megalopolis” one of the by-line says “How does an architect plan for a city with no history? Or a city that just keeps growing?” Interesting questions particularly given the fact that to charge architects with the task of planning our cities is affording too much power to a profession that simply doesn’t have it.

Can Planning Happen More Quickly?

Members of the British Parliament attempt to speed up the process for planning major projects. But some advocates and observers fear the public's voice will be muted.
25 June 2008 - 12:00pm
BBC

Watch for Desire Paths

2 June 2008 - 4:19pm

My graduate school education left me with a lot of general ideas and a handful of specific ones. One that stuck with me is a concept from landscape architecture: the desire path. Technically, the term means a path where there isn't supposed to be one, a trail of wear and tear that wasn't planned.

Sealed Landfill Leaking 'Orange Goo' Into Residential Area

Oshawa, Ontario residents have noticed a suspicious substance leaking into their community. Development next to the former landfill almost didn't happen because city planners worried about this very possibility.
2 June 2008 - 7:00am
durhamregion.com

Students Bring Neighborhood's Plans to Life

Students in Ohio State University's City and Regional Planning department worked closely with the Franklinton neighborhood in Columbus to create a new vision for the community.
1 June 2008 - 11:00am
Columbus Alive

Best Buy Refuses to Conform to Design Standards

Waynesville, North Carolina Mayor Gavin Brown is forced to give up on pedestrian-friendly design to save potential jobs from Best Buy.
31 May 2008 - 11:00am
The Smoky Mountain News

New Life for Ebenezer Howard's 'Garden City'

A campaign is underway in Wales to revive the "Garden City" concept, first brought to life in 1898. This time, supporters are claiming the radial, suburban plan is a sustainable alternative to cities.
22 May 2008 - 1:00pm
Western Mail, Wales

Beneath the Bright Lights, But Not Talking Energy

In a report back from the APA conference in Las Vegas, Daniel Lerch worries that planners are not concerned enough about planning for a constrained-energy future.
15 May 2008 - 9:00am
Post Carbon Cities Blog

End Powerpoint Abuse

12 May 2008 - 7:04am

We’ve all been subject to them – the endless powerpoint presentations that extol the worst aspects of animated text and mind-numbing bullet points. While Edward Tufte has written about the horrors of powerpoint, I see it as just a tool and like any tool it can be used wisely or poorly. After all, David Byrne, the former Talking Heads front man, makes art with powerpoint so it can’t be all bad. But one thing struck me at the American Planning Association’s (APA) conference two weeks ago: some sessions would have been much better if the powerpoint presentation (or abuse thereof) didn’t get in the way. In actuality, some of the best presentations I attended didn’t use powerpoint at all.

An Interview With The New Dean Of Harvard's Design School

Planning students today care as much about the social aspects of cities as they do of their physical design, says Mohsen Mostafavi, the new dean at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.
10 May 2008 - 7:00am
The Boston Globe
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