Exclusives

Los Angeles Traffic - The Newhall Pass

BLOG POST

Highway to Serfdom

Classical liberal commentator F.A. Hayek argued that monomaniacal government planning would eventually lead to limits on individual freedom—and government hostility to pedestrians may be an example of this.

August 15 - Michael Lewyn

Los Angeles Skyline with houses

BLOG POST

Some Like it Hot: Adapting Los Angeles to Climate Change

Closing out the "Just Add Water" lecture series, four panelists came together to discuss climate change, cultural shifts for sustainability, and adapting Los Angeles's urban fabric for greater climate resiliency in the future.

August 14 - Maayan Dembo

Downtown Denver

BLOG POST

Millennial Fever: Taking Stock of Denver Placemaking

Denver's investments in placemaking—guided by the city's great appeal to Millennials—are a mixed bag of hits, misses, and open questions.

August 12 - Dean Saitta

Pont Neuf

FEATURE

Book Review: 'How Paris Became Paris'

"How Paris Became Paris: The Invention of the Modern City," by Joan DeJean, is full of creative insights on the symptoms of urban modernity as well as bold statements about how Paris came to be one of the world's great cities.

August 12 - Josh Stephens

The Castro

BLOG POST

Do Evolving Neighborhoods Mean Dissolving Communities?

Exploding housing costs and changing social attitudes are altering the demographics of established gay neighborhoods in several big cities. As communities become more fluid, do we risk losing their culture?

August 11 - Mark Hough


NashvilleNext

FEATURE

How a Bunch of Nosepickers are Helping Nashville Plan for its Future

Booming development and shifting demographics are driving updates to Music City’s land use policies. Civic leaders and planners say they want residents to steer the process, which has meant getting people’s attention in some unlikely ways.

August 6 - Colby Sledge

Vancouver Street Scene

BLOG POST

Mission Accomplished? Not Yet

Even if today's renters and homebuyers are more likely to want urban life and walkable neighborhoods than their parents, plenty of political obstacles stand in their way.

August 5 - Michael Lewyn


Aspen

BLOG POST

Does the Aspen Ideas Festival Offer Compelling Ideas for Improving City Life?

The Aspen Ideas Festival didn't offer much that was particularly compelling, but it had its moments.

August 4 - Dean Saitta

Oakland skyline and San Francisco Bay

BLOG POST

Time to Look at Oakland

While Oakland is by no means an easy place to develop real estate, the often maligned East Bay city of over 400,000 residents may very well be the Bay Area’s best place to embrace much-needed development.

August 4 - Reuben Duarte

Google Self-Driving Car smaller

FEATURE

How Self-Driving Cars Can (and Should) Improve Transit

Comments on the proceedings of the Automated Vehicles Symposium (San Francisco, July 14-18, 2014), where participants addressed the many transportation and land use implications of an automated future.

August 1 - Daniel J. Fagnant

University of Chicago

BLOG POST

The University and The City: Location and Structure

Institutional structure and culture can matter as much as location to the success and survival of urban universities.

July 31 - Dean Saitta

Public Meeting

FEATURE

How Civic Engagement Platforms Can Bring Back the Expertise of Urban Planners

The increasing use of online civic engagement platforms offers a chance for planners to improve the planning process—that is, if they take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the new technology to showcase their expertise.

July 24 - Karin Brandt

Mural Los Angeles

BLOG POST

Manifesto for an Intercultural Urbanism

What are the philosophical and practical commitments of an approach to urban planning that respects cultural differences in ways of being and building?

July 17 - Dean Saitta

Crime Watch

BLOG POST

Transit-Oriented Cities and Safety: Another Look

Transit-oriented cities are safer than car-dependent cities of comparable size, especially if one considers traffic fatalities in car-dependent cities.

July 16 - Michael Lewyn

Woman Walking

BLOG POST

New Research: Are Women Empowered by New Urbanism?

Charlotte Fagan and Dan Trudeau (Mcalester college) study two New Urbanist neighborhoods in Minneapolis to understand the ways in which New Urbanism impacts the empowerment of women.

July 15 - JPER

street design

BLOG POST

More Great Research Quantifying Smart Growth Benefits

New research can help planners understand how specific decisions will affect transport activity (how and how much people travel), and their ultimate economic, social, and environmental impacts.

July 14 - Todd Litman

Vancouver Skyline

BLOG POST

Why Foreign Money is Irrelevant to Increasing Density

While concern over foreign investment in the local real estate market is perfectly valid, the concern is irrelevant to the reasons and need to increase density and the supply of housing.

July 10 - Reuben Duarte

Zombie Hunters

FEATURE

Thriving in the New Zombie Future: Business as Usual Planning for the Zombie Apocalypse

A satirical post welcomes the metaphorical zombie state experienced by humans in the modern built environment as the path of least resistance for a literal, future zombie state.

July 9 - William Riggs

Chicago Metra and Highway

BLOG POST

Transit, Density, and Congestion

The most transit-oriented metro areas often have lower levels of traffic congestion than one might expect based on their size.

July 8 - Michael Lewyn

Fire

BLOG POST

The Least Popular Posts of 2014

Through the first six months of 2014, some Planetizen posts proved less than enticing to our readers. Instead of dwelling on that distinction as ignominious, let's consider how these neglected few might provide insight into the planning discussion.

July 7 - James Brasuell

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

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.

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