Infrastructure
Stadium Seats Recycled Into Bus Stops
An "independent urbanist" group in Indianapolis spearheaded an idea to take seats from the closing Bush Stadium minor league ballpark to be used as much-needed bus stop furniture.
Detroit Scraps Train Plans
The city and federal DOT have decided against a $600 million plan that would introduce light rail and, subsequently, more residents to the city. Instead, money will go to improving a notoriously unreliable bus system.
Robot Roadbuilders of the Future
In 1958, it seemed all but inevitable that giant tree-chomping, asphalt-pouring machines would roam across the countryside leaving gleaming interstate highways in their wake.
Potholes as Parks?
Writing in Grist, Chuck Wolfe provides a counterintuitive look at what to do about potholes and how they could become "the universal darlings of walkable urbanism".
Chicago's Bikes and Rail Infrastructure Get Federal Boost
About $20 million in all, the grants will go to improvements to the CTA and the city's first bikeshare program. This is just one of 46 projects nationwide getting funding this round from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Lawyers Call for Zoning Changes in NYC
The NYC Bar Association Committee advocates making amendments to the city's the current Zoning Resolution to make the city more sustainable.
IKEA to Build A Neighborhood
International company IKEA, known for their low-cost design furniture, will develop a 26-acre complete London neighborhood.
How Planning is Like Growing Tomatoes
An organic system is rarely the sum of its parts. Nothing demonstrates this as clearly as sinking your teeth into a store-bought tomato, writes Ben Brown.
Columbia Pike Streetcar is the Better Design
According to Miles Grant, "the streetcar is a relative bargain purely on the basis of direct cost per estimated user, not even including the external costs of sprawl and pollution that new and improved highways engender."
Redevelopment Project Across from Wrigley Field
According to Tribune staff reporter Ameet Sachdev, "owners of the Chicago Cubs bought property across the street from Wrigley Field from McDonald's Corp. for $20 million, expanding their opportunities to redevelop areas around the stadium."
Communities Grapple for Land Control Amid Gas Drilling
In one Pennsylvania township and elsewhere, gas drilling companies are getting zoning concessions to drill on private property. The industry is standing its ground as communities voice their opposition.
High-Speed Rail Project Faces Opposition
In California, a recent poll, according to Charles Chieppo, brought bad news stating that 53% of the states voters approved a $9.9 billion bond three years ago, but of those polled, 64% support a re-vote, and 59% would vote no if they had the chance.
Placemaking With Zip Lines
Chuck Wolfe admires the creative thinking which has reinvented the dramatic setting between two Italian hill towns.
San Francisco's Performance Parking Pilot Less Successful Than Hoped
In San Francisco, a performance parking pilot program has not had as big an impact as many thought it would. According to Michael Perkins, "Even with high rates, popular blocks still fill up, and other blocks remain under-filled even at low prices."
LA Artist Reopens Derelict JC Penney As Art Complex
An LA based artist is about reopen a 100,000 square foot disused JC Penney as an arts complex in West Houston. The former West Oaks Mall anchor had been vacant for two years before becoming the focus of the new rehab concept.
Manhattan's Far West Side Rises From Olympic Disappointment
A vibrant neighborhood is rising on Manhattan's far west side, where the Stadium and complex would have been built as proposed by the New York's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games.
Washington DC Imagines Itself Without Transit
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is celebrating its 35th anniversary and is finding ways to ascertain exactly what the agency has brought to the region.
LA City Council Moves Closer To River Centric Development
The Los Angeles City Council last week approved an update to the Los Angeles River Implementation Overlay to encourage good quality river centric development and begin removing some of the concrete that covers the river and its banks.
Even or Odd? Rome Restricts Car Use
With pollution levels becoming dangerous in Rome, Italy, the government is taking a hard line on driving. In late November, only cars with even-numbered license plates were allowed to drive in the city, with odd plates the next.
Zurich, the World's Best Transit City
Transportation expert Norman Garrick reports on the amazingly effective transit system of Zurich, Switzerland. Garrick says the system is one of the factors that makes Zurich one of the most livable cities in the world.
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.
Ada County Highway District
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
