Exclusives
BLOG POST
Does Vancouver need (or want) Iconic Architecture?
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial">Like many world cities, Vancouver has a growing discussion on the issue of "iconic" architecture, one that I've been a part of and encouraging. This despite the fact that, like many urbanists, the word iconic actually makes me nervous. </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial"> </span></p>
FEATURE
Not Your Typical Redevelopment Board
With little else to do, teenagers in the rural Indiana town of San Pierre have found a new place to hang out: community meetings. But they're not just hanging out, they are actively participating in the planning and revitalization of their community.
BLOG POST
What Balls!
<p>The other day, half a million plastic balls bounced down the Spanish Steps, one of Rome's most visited and historic public places. Many visitors, picture-takers and members of the media were caused to wonder 'what's up with all these balls?'</p>
BLOG POST
Smart Growth and Sustainability Should Focus on Climate Change More Than Immigration
<p>This evening my wife, Beth Conover, will appear on a televised panel discussion on "Immigration and Sustainability" aired on Rocky Mountain PBS's <a href="http://www.rmpbs.org/content/index.cfm/show/199305" title="Rocky Mountain PBS Colorado State of Mind">Colorado State of Mind</a>, hosted by Greg Dobbs. The panel includes former Gov. Dick Lamm, former Post columnist Diane Carman, and State Rep. Michael Garcia (D-Aurora). An mp3 of the program is already available at the following <a href="http://www.rmpbs.org/resources/files/programs/local_productions/csom/csom603.mp3" title="MP3 of 7-18-07 Colorado State of Mind PBS Show">link</a>. </p>
BLOG POST
Smart Growth at the Grassroots, Part 1
<p> <strong>Matching Obstacles and Techniques</strong> <em>(Part one of two)</em><br /> <br /> Creating Smart Growth in our metropolitan areas is generally more complex than conventional auto-oriented development, more expensive, and requires more public involvement and coordination. The strong policies and regional cooperation planners desire to coordinate development have proven politically challenging. Unless planners are able to create systems that overcome these obstacles our efforts to encourage Smart Growth will be stymied. Luckily solutions are available, but they must be as nimble and resourceful as the forces they hope to counter. </p>
BLOG POST
A Billion Reasons to Take Biking Seriously
<p><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial">Sometime in the last year – when the smart people in North America weren't looking – bike-sharing turned into a billion-dollar industry. </span></font></p><p><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial">I may be exaggerating when I say “industry.” But not “billion.”</span></font><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial"> </span></font></p>
FEATURE
Planners Need To Work With Difference
There are many voices in the process of community planning. To create effective plans, planners need to welcome these many voices and their respective differences, not suppress them into consensus.
BLOG POST
Undressing the naked city
<p><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana">Often times I’m struck by the advances we’ve made in mapping, modeling and depicting our cities. What was once the purview of mapmakers, surveyors or architects is now a democratized, engaging process that brings unexpected results. And the more advanced the technology, the more transparent our cities seem to become. </span></p>
BLOG POST
A Manual For The Future
The Wacker’s Manual of the Plan of Chicago: Municipal Economy, first written in 1911 as a way to educate Chicago students about the City’s Plan of 1909, provides remarkable insight into America’s diminished socio-cultural ambitions.
BLOG POST
Is eminent domain necessary for revitalizing cities?
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Planners are split on eminent domain—one group believes it’s a critical component of planning since it allows them to implement plans more quickly. Others believe eminent domain does more to destroy urbanism than build it up. I’ve weighed in on it numerous times, including </font><a href="/node/150"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3" color="#800080">this commentary published by Planetizen</font></a><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">. </font></p>
FEATURE
Personal Rapid Transit: The Connective Tissue of Better Mobility
Two high-profile Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) systems are currently under construction, and their implementation could serve as a model for how cities can better connect their existing transit systems to improve mobility.
BLOG POST
Resolving to Graduate on Time: Troubleshooting Your Urban Planning Exit Project or Thesis
<p class="MsoNormal"> For students facing the end of their masters programs, an individual exit project, paper, or thesis is often part of the final semester. Over the years I’ve watched many very competent students struggle with this process and delay graduation for years because they could not complete their thesis or project “book”. Over the following months I am going to focus on the various parts of the process of writing these documents—from literature reviews and research questions to time management and creating informative illustrations. To help those currently near the end, in this entry I focus on key trouble spots for those a few months from graduation. </p>
FEATURE
Best of the Worst in Planning for 2007
Keeping track of the weird things that occur in the planning and government world – from rules prohibiting screaming on amusement park rides to “green” cremation techniques – isn't really necessary. But someone should do it anyway.
BLOG POST
Art, Agriculture, and Civic Identity Converge in the Great Plains
<p class="MsoNormal">MINNEAPOLIS--If not for the <a href="http://www.walkerart.org" target="_blank">Walker Art Center</a> I would have scant reason to spend extra time in Minneapolis.<span> </span>Minneapolis is not lacking for charm or culture, but it certainly falls in that middle range of American cities, somewhere between New York and nondescript, which is to say that it is not a destination in and of itself, yet it offers reasons to extend a stay for those who find themselves so far north for other reasons. </p>
BLOG POST
The Myth of the Urban Core
<p><font size="3"><u><span style="font-family: Arial">Question</span></u><span style="font-family: Arial">: What do Keybank Tower in Cleveland, the Kettering Tower in Dayton, and One Seagate in Toledo have in common? </span></font></p><p><font size="3"><u><span style="font-family: Arial">Answer</span></u><span style="font-family: Arial">: They are their respective city’s tallest buildings, and they were built <em>after</em> their city’s population peaked.</span></font></p>
BLOG POST
The Party Train
<p><img style="width: 200px; height: 150px; float: right" src="/files/u2/20071214-toy-train.jpg" alt="Toy train" title="Toy train" hspace="30" vspace="2" width="200" height="150" align="right" />Metrolink is Southern California's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrolink_%28Southern_California%29">regional rail</a> system linking several counties. The 15-year old system with 7 lines, 54 stations, and 388 route miles serves over 40,000 passengers in the Southland. <a href="http://www.metrolinktrains.com/about/">Metrolink</a> says its mission is "to provide the people of Southern California safe, reliable and environmentally friendly commute option." Sure, but can it also serve as an interesting venue to host a 4-year old's birthday party?</p> <p>One birthday boy in particular loves trains and is a fan of a popular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_the_Tank_Engine_and_Friends">TV series</a> featuring trains. His mother told me that their family trips were often planned around using rail transit to get to destinations in Central and Southern California. So what better way to celebrate his birthday than to invite his friends -- accompanied by parents of course -- for a trip on a commuter train? Children that age are probably more used to birthday parties where they are entertained by clowns or magicians. Would these children, growing up in Southern California's car-centric culture be entertained at a party where the view through a train window was the main attraction? </p>
BLOG POST
Airports as a Brake on Global City Growth
<p> It seems that global cities across the world are running up against an unforeseen brake on their future growth - airport and airspace congestion. </p>
FEATURE
Small Cities, Big Challenges
BLOG POST
Considering a Smart Growth President
<p>It's often said that in America, urban development issues are decided at the local level. In general the rule of thumb is accurate, explaining a country home to cities as different in form as Houston, Texas and San Francisco, California. The notable exception to the rule is the country's interstate highway system, build with extensive involvement of the federal government. However, under closer inspection we can find a number of areas where federal funding and policies has a strong impact on urban development. A survey of what the leading presidential candidates are saying about urban policy suggests what priorities our next president may have.</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
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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.
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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
