Humor

Our annual list of the 10 best planning, design, and development websites represents some of the top online resources for news, information and research on the built environment.

March 17, 2011 - Abhijeet Chavan

An enterprising couple from Los Angeles turned an RV into a mode of public transportation for the party-going crowd. Recent partnerships with Foursquare and Walt Disney Imagineering have made the RV a popular way to get around Tinseltown.

March 16, 2011 - GOOD Magazine

A design student from the Royal College of Art, London raises the question of whether urban design can be used to bridge the gap between humans and animals which share urban environments.

March 15, 2011 - GOOD Magazine

Enjoy this detailed demonstration of Detroit's Light Rail Proposal, using rap and LEGOs to communicate the message that light rail in the center of the road is better than then on the sides.

March 11, 2011 - YouTube

Selling high-speed rail to the American public has just gotten a whole lot easier with the assistance from the brilliant minds at "Mad Men."

March 11, 2011 - GOOD Magazine

Chuck Wolfe suggests five "Burnhamisms" for getting communities inspired and engaged with urban planning, including using social media and video to communicate your message.

March 7, 2011 - myurbanist

Chinese search engine company Baidu has developed an alternative to Google's (banned in China) 3D view.

March 4, 2011 - Gizmodo

While Philadelphia has a real-life statue of the famous underdog Rocky Balboa, an online campaign in Detroit wants a similar RoboCop statue put up. TIME Magazine has other must-have icons from the 80s era it thinks cities should adopt in stone.

February 25, 2011 - Time

Yuri Artibise is an expert on infographics and has chosen his favorite ones on cities.

February 18, 2011 - Sustainable Cities Collective

Daniella Fergusson believes that a case in Raleigh, North Carolina proves that some agencies use the professionalization of planning to promote "pay to play" policies.

February 16, 2011 - Planning Pool

No, this is not a video of Petula Clark, but do take her message to heart. Rats are not just on the subway tracks - occasionally they hop a ride too, so riders beware - stay awake! Caught on tape...

January 18, 2011 - NY1/You-Tube

January 13, 2011 - Tim Halbur

The plot of a new Muppets movie in the works is said to focus largely around historic preservation issues, according to this post from Curbed LA.

January 11, 2011 - Curbed LA

While there may not be popular songs specifically mentioning urban planning, there are many songs about cities and the impact of planning decisions. Here are my 10 of favorites.

December 9, 2010 - Abhijeet Chavan

Planetizen is pleased to release its ninth annual list of the ten best books in urban planning, design and development published in 2010. This year's selection includes some big names, some big ideas -- and a book called "Toilet."

November 22, 2010 - Abhijeet Chavan

The Onion reports on how President Obama's ambitious high-speed rail agenda is being replaced with a plan for high-speed buses that will use existing roads and be outfitted for a fraction of the cost of trains [Video].

November 19, 2010 - The Onion

For Halloween, a group of designers from Steven Holl turned their favorite architects into jack-o-lanterns.

November 3, 2010 - The New York Observer

Travel + Leisure magazine confuses suburbs with small cities in a recent article called "Coolest Suburbs Worth a Visit." The New Urban Network shows how they got it wrong.

September 22, 2010 - New Urban Network

The satirical newspaper The Onion reports on how the safe transfer of millions of barrels of oil into the energy infrastructure of the United States will result in environmental calamity.

August 13, 2010 - The Onion

"Vigilant old ladies: another good example of the value of neighborhood social capital (and urban living)."

July 20, 2010 - Good