Infrastructure

Where Americans Will Be in 2050

Where will Americans live? Everywhere. The third article in a three-part series based on Joel Kotkin's new book, "The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050," looks at where Americans will live and how our communities will grow to accommodate them.

March 23, 2010 - AOL News

Broken Inner-City Freeway Reborn as Garden

Activists have turned the site of a former inner-city freeway in San Francisco into a community garden.

March 21, 2010 - Good

Waterfront Rail Plans Advance in Philadelphia

Plans to construct a waterfront rail line in Philadelphia are moving forward, with the recent approval of a $6.5 million contract to perform environmental reviews.

March 19, 2010 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Rethinking Urban Alleyways in Seattle

Through a new competition, the city of Seattle is looking to revive and reuse the alleys of the urban core.

March 18, 2010 - Crosscut

Seeking Solutions to California's Drought

This piece from National Geographic takes a look at the three-year drought that's plaguing California's cities and farms.

March 18, 2010 - National Geographic

New Argument for Public Transit: Better for Texting?

In a recent piece in Wired, Clive Thompson suggests that the solution to the problem of texting while driving is not to stop texting, but to stop driving. The popularity of texting is a good reason to support public transit.

March 17, 2010 - Wired Magazine

L.A. Transit: Up a Hill and Out to the Sea

The historic Angel's Flight funicular reopened yesterday, as Mayor Villaraigosa announces his vision to transform Los Angeles' transit system in 10 years.

March 16, 2010 - True/Slant

The High Costs of America's Aging Water Infrastructure

As part of its extensive coverage of water issues in the U.S., The New York Times looks at the aging water systems that plague American cities and what it would cost to fix them.

March 16, 2010 - The New York Times

Woonerfs Are Coming

"Woonerf" is a Dutch word for streets that mix cars and people, but with pedestrians as the dominant mode. Toronto planners are using the concept in their plans for the West Don Lands neighborhood.

March 16, 2010 - The Toronto Star

High Speed Rail from London to Scotland Planned

Take a virtual (5-minute) trip on the 250 mph proposed train from London to Glasgow. All political parties agree on the need for what Secretary of State, Andrew Adonis, terms '21st century transport revolution', but the routing is less certain.

March 16, 2010 - BBC News

"Real Simple" Cities That Save Time

Real Simple magazine offers its survey of America's top "time saving" cities, or those that make getting around and getting things done as easy (and green) as possible.

March 15, 2010 - Real Simple

Three High Speed Rail Lines Announced in UK

The three new high speed rail lines are being called the biggest advancement of the United Kingdom's public transit system in more than 50 years.

March 15, 2010 - The Mirror

The Taming of the Motorcar

March 15, 2010 - Victor Gruen

River Walk Leans Away From Tourism in San Antonio

San Antonio's River Walk is getting a new stretch of revitalized riverfront, but it's neither the utilitarian drainage ditch of the past nor the heavily sculpted tourist attraction of recent years.

March 12, 2010 - San Antonio Express-News

China's Cross-Continental Rail Plan

China has announced plans to extend its high speed rail network Wetsward across the continent, connecting its eastern shores to Europe.

March 12, 2010 - the transport politic

Google Gets Bike-Friendly

The latest addition to Google Maps is a bicycle service, helping cyclists plan routes, find bike trails, and avoid hills.

March 10, 2010 - Chicago Tribune

Mega-Project Gets Miniaturized

Dwindling tax revenues force fiscal restraint in Maryland, where planners are shifting money from highway expansion to infrastructure maintenance.

March 10, 2010 - Baltimore Sun

The Inside Story of Sign Design

Slate continues its series on wayfinding with the little-known story of the symbolic conflicts among the U.S., the former Soviet Union and Japan over how to direct people in a time of crisis.

March 10, 2010 - Slate

Town Futures in Photoshop

A picture's worth a thousand plans - at least when it's a "photo-realistic visualization." Designer Steve Price's detailed 3D flash animations show towns what empty streetscapes and drab buildings could look like with a little bit of planning.

March 8, 2010 - Grist.org

Putting Good Energy with the Bad

Facing resistance when siting green energy projects like wind turbines, energy companies are considering brownfields like the Leviathan Mine in California's Alpine County.

March 5, 2010 - Next100 (PG&E blog)

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.