Exclusives
BLOG POST
How Cities Grow Big; Not How Big Cities Grow!
Can cities stop growth? is there an ideal size for a city-region? What really matters is HOW a city grows big, not how big a city grows. Design matters. When people suggest a city is getting too big, shift the conversation from quantity to quality.
FEATURE
Book Review: 'City by City'
A Planetizen review of "City by City: Dispatches from the American Metropolis," edited by Keith Gessen and Stephen Squibb, finds too much to fault in the book's essay about Los Angeles.
FEATURE
Looking for Inspiration? Try a Daily Dose of a Satellite's Perspective
Here's a strange idea that just might work: viewing the planet from afar might offer the perspective necessary to care for and protect our place in the universe.
BLOG POST
What is Urban Decay? (And Why the Answer Matters)
The ambiguous definition of 'urban decay' dilutes the argument for requiring this less-well-known environmental study.
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Light Rail Doesn't Always Mean Fewer Buses
Cities that have recently adopted light rail sometimes actually add bus riders.
BLOG POST
San Francisco's Proposed Housing Moratorium Is a Bad Idea
After San Francisco Supervisors reject housing moratorium, proponents vow ballot initiative. But a moratorium is the wrong solution to the problem and would likely lead to continued price increases, condo conversions, and Ellis Act evictions.
BLOG POST
City Living Without the Racket
Planners can use building codes and design review to protect city apartments from internal and external sources of noise.
FEATURE
Urban Big Data: Where is the Signal in the Noise?
Amid growing skepticism, an international gathering examines the useful benefits for an age of critical urban challenges.
BLOG POST
Collecting Comments on a PDF Planning Document on the Web?
How do you collect public comments on a web-based PDF planning document? It should be simple. But it isn't.
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Self-Fulfilling Automobile Dependency
Common planning practices create automobile-dependent communities where driving is convenient and other forms of travel are inefficient. It's time to recognize the value of transportation diversity.
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Composing Cosmopolis
It’s wise to search widely across time and space for good examples of processes and products for intercultural city building.
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Do Millennials Opt for Cities or Suburbs? Yes.
Recent stories claiming that millenials either (a) prefer cities to suburbs or (b) prefer suburbs to cities both have some basis in reality.
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Ask the Ethicist: Making Room in the Development Review Pipeline for Social Justice
The latest installment of Planetizen's "Ask the Ethicist" series features the advice of our resident expert: Carol D. Barrett, FAICP, author of "Everyday Ethics for Practicing Planners."
FEATURE
Planners Across America: Dawn Warrick On Implementing Tulsa's Comprehensive Plan
In this interview for the "Planners Across America" series, Tulsa Planning Director Dawn Warrick describes the implementation process for the PlaniTulsa Comprehensive Plan.
BLOG POST
Three Reasons to Use Livability as a Vehicle for Sustainability
Meghan Gough, assistant professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University, guest blogs about her work on balancing livability and sustainability.
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Well Done Vancouver! Well Done Planners!
In Vancouver, British Columbia, dramatic reductions in automobile travel and resulting benefits demonstrate that integrated TDM and smart growth policies can help create cities that are healthy, wealthy, and wise.
FEATURE
It's Time to Talk About National Minimum Urban Density Standards
What would a policy that requires development to make more efficient use of land and resources (like water, for instance) look like?
FEATURE
How Developers Can Help Make Streets Safe for Children Again
It will take a broad coalition of interests to once again make it safe for "free-range kids" to walk and bike on the streets of American communities.
BLOG POST
When States Should Blow the Whistle
States regulate local governments too much in some areas, but not enough in others.
BLOG POST
Los Angeles pLAn Shoots for STAR
The newly released Los Angeles Sustainability pLAn aspires to Lead by Example by committing to STAR Communities certification by 2017. Other major cities may now feel compelled to pursue STAR as part of their sustainability plans and program.
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.
