Exclusives
BLOG POST
Home Location Preferences And Their Implications For Smart Growth
<span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Calibri"> <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small; font-family: Calibri">Location, location, location. Choosing a smart home location can help households become healthy, wealthy and wise, since it affects residents’ physical activity levels, long-term financial burdens and opportunities for education and social interaction. </span> </p>
BLOG POST
What Makes A City Stressful?
<div class="content"> <p> Forbes just came up with another of its “Most X City” surveys. This week, it listed the most stressful cities (<a href="http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/20/stress-unemployment-homes-lifestyle-real-estate-home-values-stressful-cities_slide.html?partner=msnhealth" title="http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/20/stress-unemployment-homes-lifestyle-real-estate-home-values-stressful-cities_slide.html?partner=msnhealth">http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/20/stress-unemployment-homes-lifestyle-rea...</a> ). Nearly all of Forbes’ criteria, however, are silly in one respect or another. </p>
BLOG POST
Making Sense of Information: Using Sources in Planning School
<p> With the semester starting, students are beginning to focus on assignments and other project work. Today there is a great deal of information available for planners, but that can lead students to be overwhelmed (and use only a few available sources) or uncertain about how to use those sources that are available. Fortunately universities are coming up with resources to help students untangle these issues. My own institution just launched the very helpful <a href="http://digitalliteracy.cornell.edu" target="_blank">http://digitalliteracy.cornell.edu</a>/. The following tips are adapted from my guide for students doing final projects and theses (link at the end of this entry). </p>
BLOG POST
The Telecommuting Town
<p> Planetizen readers, I have an idea I'd like your opinion on. As managing editor for the past year, I've become increasingly aware of how skilled and professional our readers are. Comments on articles are almost always civil, engaging and thoughtful, something that can't be said for the majority of websites. We have a community of experts here, which is why I bring my idea to you. </p>
BLOG POST
No one goes there anymore, it's too crowded
<p> Yogi Berra said that. I also recall someone saying at some conference on smart growth or new urbanism: the more cars sharing the road, the more people get frustrated (hence all the car ads of people driving with no other cars in sight), while the more people on a well designed sidewalk, the more we tend to like it. </p>
FEATURE
Eco City Structure - From Land Uses Up
The future of architecture is in its expression as city structure, not just as buildings, and in its self-conscious ecological awareness, says architect Richard Register.
BLOG POST
Legibility vs. efficiency
<p> <span><span style="font-size: x-small">One reason why buses are less popular than trains is buses' lack of "legibility</span></span><span><span style="font-size: x-small">"</span></span><span><span style="font-size: x-small">: the ability of an occasional passenger to figure out how to get somewhere by bus. While subway or light rail passengers can look at a system map (which is usually present on a station wall) and figure out that a train to destination X shall arrive at their station reasonably soon, bus passengers typically have to invest time in getting schedules, and then pray that the schedule has not changed.<br /> </span></span> </p>
BLOG POST
Residential Infill, 70's-Style
<p> </p> <p> In 1979, the City of San Diego launched a plan to steer new development into the craftsman-lined neighborhoods close to downtown. The idea was sound: scatter higher density housing throughout existing smart growth communities.
BLOG POST
Socially Optimal Transportation Emission Reduction Strategies
<p> The recently released report, <a href="http://www.movingcooler.info/">Moving Cooler: Transportation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions</a>, which recommends various VMT reduction strategies (also called mobility management, transportation demand management, TDM), has <a href="/node/39945">raised debate concerning the best way to reduce climate change emissions</a>. Critics argue that that reducing vehicle travel is difficult and costly to consumers and the economy, and instead support strategies that change vehicle design (increased energy efficiency and alternative fuels).
FEATURE
REVIEW: Urban Design for an Urban Century: Placemaking for People
Julia Galef reviews <em>Urban Design for an Urban Century: Placemaking for People</em> by Lance Jay Brown, David Dixon, and Oliver Gillham.
BLOG POST
New urbanists and old-fashioned Jews
<p> A few years ago, someone asked me the following question (loosely paraphrased) on a listserv: “Since the most tradition-minded* religious Jews are required by Jewish law to walk to synagogue on Sabbaths and holy days (and thus presumably prize walkability) why aren’t they a major market for new urbanist developments?” At the time, I didn’t have a coherent answer. But now that I know more about both traditional Jews and new urbanism, I do. </p>
BLOG POST
Another bold move in Portland
<p> <img src="http://postcarbon.org/files/highrise-turbines3_300h.jpg" alt="Wind turbines atop Portland high-rise." hspace="5" vspace="5" align="right" />When we moved the <a href="http://www.postcarboncities.net">Post Carbon Cities</a> office to downtown Portland I was thrilled to get a bird's-eye view of the downtown streetcar, the first new streetcar line built in the US since World War II. This morning I got a new history-making treat out my window: <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/08/innovative_wind_turbines_to_to.html">four wind turbines</a> mounted yesterday on a new high-rise, among the first such urban wind projects in the country. </p>
FEATURE
Placemaking Through Zoning
Zoning is often portrayed as the great evil of city planning, but Les Pollock of Camiros argues that we shouldn't dismiss the power of zoning to create great communities.
BLOG POST
Speaking of Clunkers
<p> <span style="color: #4f4f4f; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif'"><span style="font-size: small">For serious transportation policy wonks lately every day is like Christmas.<span> </span>Climate change, bailout, deteriorating infrastructure, reauthorization, aging baby boomers, bailout, stimulus, new administration, economic development, global competition, urban redevelopment, bailout, etc.<span> </span>One has all they can do to just keep up with all the relevant news and positioning say nothing of understanding it.<span> </span>In fact, I don’t understand it.<span> </span></span></span><span style="color: #4f4f4f; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif'"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></span><span style="color: #4f4f4f; font-family: 'Lucida San
BLOG POST
The 2010 Winter Olympics Athletes Village: Vancouver's Next City-Building Model, Part 1
<span style="font-size: x-small"> <p> I'm sure much will be written on the observations and learning's from the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Winter Olympics and Paralympics process - at least once all those working tirelessly on it have had some time to catch our breath after next year's monumental event. As you can imagine, we're already inundated with visitors, questions and critiques, and we still have months to go and much hard work to do. </p>
BLOG POST
Portland: A Rose By Any Other Name
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify" class="MsoNormal"> <span><span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Swis721 Cn BT"><strong>Every real estate developer and urban planner knows that Portland, Oregon rocks.</strong></span></span></span> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify" class="MsoNormal"> <span><span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Swis721 Cn BT">It is probably our best civic example in the United States of defining a comprehensive growth strategy for its citizens and staying true to the vision.<span> </span>The result is an authentic, creative, smart, home grown, artsy, sustainable, eco-friendly, colorful, self sufficient, vibrant, athletic, outdoorsy, walking, biking, multi-generational and experimental lifestyle downtown community where buildings, transit, waterfront festivals, park blocks, fountains, theaters, bookstores, galleries, music, crafts, food, wine, beer, coffee and people all blend together perfectly.<span> </span>It really works here. But one thing was never done properly and needs to be changed to capture this spirit – the name of the city.</span></span></span><span><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Swis721 Cn BT"> </span></span> </p>
BLOG POST
An Udder Failure...
<p> A couple of weeks ago, the South Dakota Supreme Court in <em>Anderson</em><em> v. Town of Badger</em> held that a town had the power to grant a waiver of a distance requirement set by Kingsbury County for a CAFO. <a href="http://www.sdjudicial.com/opinions/downloads/y2009/25045.pdf">Click here </a>for the decision. </p> <p> Wait a minute. Why wouldn’t you want to live near a CAFO? What’s a CAFO? It’s not Community Association Facility Operations. It’s not Centralized Area of Fun Outside …no, it’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, something akin to dinner time at my fraternity house in the mid-1960s… </p>
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
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.
