Infrastructure

Richard Florida on the Importance of Place

Richard Florida, interviewed by blogger Dave Copeland, says that quality of place is going to be of growing importance in the coming era to keep cities vibrant and attracting talent and the "creative class."

October 12, 2011 - MyCityWay Blog

The Saga of a Patch of Underwater Land in Silicon Valley

The Santa Clara Water District is buying back a piece of land of very little value from a developer who intended it to be part of a "new town" of 100,000 residents. From dream to discard, here is the story.

October 12, 2011 - The San Jose Mercury News

From Sprawl to Complete Communities

Galina Tachieva's new Sprawl Repair Manual creates a narrative and visual process for making suburbs more sustainable. The book's first chapter is available now online.

October 11, 2011 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments

Top 6 Underused Airports In the World

"Build it and they will come," says Ysabel Yates. Unfortunately for these 6 large airports, they didn't.

October 11, 2011 - The Infrastructurist

Rahm Emanuel Expands Chicago's Commitment to Bike-Centric Development

Chicago's flat topography makes it ideal for bike riding. Now Rahm Emanuel and Gabe Klein's new public policies aim to grow their use. The city consistently scores as highly in bike-friendly rankings as New York, Austin, or Denver.

October 10, 2011 - Huffington Post

Partisanship Stalls Infrastructure Investment, Says Blumenauer

Congressional support for transportation and infrastructure projects has traditionally been bipartisan. In an interview, Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon discusses how political tantrums in Congress may handicap the US in the long run.

October 10, 2011 - The Planning Report

Dwindling Dollars for Dam Safety

New requirements have made safety officials more aware of the safety issues surrounding the U.S.'s 84,000 dams. Problem is, there are fewer funds available to fix the mounting problems they find.

October 9, 2011 - Renewable Energy World

Expedited Fracking Plan May Need to Apply the Brakes

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's plan to expedite natural oil gas drilling, or fracking, is too risky to rush. Even with environmental regulations in place, writes Eric Goldstein, there are too many "unresolved substantive issues" to resolve.

October 9, 2011 - Gotham Gazette

South Pasadena Implements Bike Master Plan This Month

The plan covers 24 miles of bikeways, and is estimated to got nearly $6 million over the course of 20 years. Adolfo Flores reports.

October 8, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

What! A Subway Entrance On Our Street?!

Plans by the MTA to renovate the 68th St. Station on the Lexington Ave. station received an angry reception from upper East Siders, some of whom said the justification for the renovation, the American with Disabilities Act, was a "charade."

October 7, 2011 - New York Post

Habitat for Humanity Releases Disaster Planning Report

Drawing examples from a vast supply of disasters in recent years, this 30-page report emphasizes planning and policy for not just housing, but also land tenure and community input, with long-term perspectives.

October 7, 2011 - Habitat for Humanity

Steve Jobs Advocates Planning In Final Public Appearance

In his last public appearance, Steve Jobs assumes the role of a land use advocate seeking to double the number of trees, move parking underground, and provide a self sufficient energy source for Apple's new campus in Cupertino.

October 6, 2011 - The Atlantic

Miami's Burgeoning Downtown Art Scene

Mera Rubell, one of America's premier art collectors, explains to Richard Florida why she loves collecting her art in Miami, and which is the best American City for artists.

October 5, 2011 - The Atlantic

New MIT Data Analysis Tool Aims To Rationalize Planning

Andres Sevstuk, lecturer at MIT and head of the City Form Research Group describes how the new Urban Network Analysis toolbox is "taking a much more rigorous approach to look at the work of urban design."

October 4, 2011 - The Boston Globe

Dutch Cycling Embassy Wants to Get the World Biking

A group of traffic and infrastructure consultants along with NGOS and academics have banded together to spread better bicycle infrastructure around the world.

October 2, 2011 - Streetsblog

An Infrastructure Bank? We Already Have One

A handful of Washington insiders argue that while Obama is calling for the creation of a national infrastructure bank, there is already such an entity in existence and ready to assume the role.

October 2, 2011 - The Washington Post

Taking the Subway in Shanghai Requires a Token and a Prayer

Recent crashes involving the subway in Shanghai has caused speculation that the rails are unsafe and poorly built.

October 1, 2011 - Bloomberg

Richard Florida Examines The Regional Variance In Unemployment Figures

Richard Florida examines the stark regional variance behind American unemployment figures. He finds that Bismark and Fargo in North Dakota have least unemployment, while the Californian Central Valley suffers the highest.

September 30, 2011 - The Atlantic

Nine Ideas to Boost Cycling in London

This Big City readers offer their ideas, from infrastructure-related to marketing, to encourage cycling among more casual riders in London.

September 30, 2011 - This Big City

Could Growth In Urban Cores Remedy Problematic Gentrification?

The argument that increased supply of urban housing will lower prices is rapidly being disproved by successive waves of gentrification throughout American cities. Stephen Smith offers a considered analysis of the economics behind this dynamic.

September 29, 2011 - Forbes

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.

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.