The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
'Urban Physics' Compares Cities to Nature's Materials
Ruth Graham details the work of Franz-Josef Ulm, who is developing a theory of "urban physics" that compares the structure of cities to materials found in nature. Boston, for instance, is disorderly like water (and Los Angeles).
World's Largest Carbon Capture and Storage Project Breaks Ground in Texas
Construction began July 16 on the Petra Nova project, 27 miles from Houston. President Obama and many climate experts are banking on CCS to mitigate carbon emissions from the world's largest source of carbon emissions: coal burning power plants.
HUD Data Shows: 'Who Lives in Subsidized Housing?'
The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released data about households receiving federal housing assistance. Lisa Sturtevant, writing for the National Housing Conference, provides an overview of the data.
U.S. Traffic Engineering Manual Closer to Adopting Bike Design Features
Bicycle facilities, such as contraflow lanes, extensions of bike lanes through intersections, and bike boxes, inched toward official approval from the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
Recession No Match for Gentrification in Many Cities
Rachel Dovey details a new report that finds boom-era trends of gentrification persisted in urban areas throughout the effects of the post-2007 recession.
Worldwide Urbanization Reflected by Growth of Mega-Cities
A new report by the United Nations projects the growth of the world's urban population, which is expected to surpass six billion by 2045.
Study Finds Benefit in Proximity to Bike Lanes: 45 Minutes of Exercise a Week
Researchers in the United Kingdom have found that people who live near bike lanes are more likely to exercise—45 minutes more exercise per week, in fact.
The Chorus of 'No Planning, Please' is Making My Head Hurt
Life is hard. So are baseball, soccer, and a bunch of other stuff that require making good enough guesses to size opportunities and duck calamity. With apologies from Ben Brown for beating up on David Brooks.
Time to Find a Better Word than 'Sharing' for the New Economy
Abigail Zenner writes of the need to find new nomenclature, instead of "sharing," for transportation network companies like Uber, or sharing economy darlings like Airbnb.
Review: New Oakland Hospital a Case Study in Urban Design Failure
John King describes a new, 7.6-acre hospital campus in the heart of Oakland, California as accessible only by car or ambulance—in other words, "enough to make you sick."
New Zoning Query App Answers the Question: 'Where Can I Open My Business?'
A new app called ZoningCheck provides users a responsive query function. In addition to the obvious layer of bureaucratic interface saved by the process, the app also makes a compelling case for the benefits of open municipal codes.
Cleveland Planning 'Iconic' Bridge to Connect Downtown and Lakefront
Cleveland and Cuyahoga County are pushing ahead with an ambitious plan for a pedestrian and bike connection between downtown Cleveland and the lakefront.
New Jersey Communities Build Coalition to Track Abandoned Properties
The residents of Camden County in New Jersey, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, banded together to catalog the abandoned properties in their neighborhoods, where the problem of abandoned, or "zombie" properties, is growing.
Climate Policy Take a Major Step Back Down Under
Adopted in 2011 and implemented in 2012, the Australian carbon tax was repealed on July 16, 2014, taking with it plans to transform the tax into a cap and trade system linked to the EU's. Are there implications for other developed nations?
How Apps Can Help Track How Angelenos Move
In a review of the iPhone app Human, Los Angeles County planner Clement Lau examines how the daily movement of residents can be measured.
Colorado's Anti-Fracking Initiative Dropped from November Ballot
Organizers for a statewide measure to allow cities to ban fracking admitted to having insufficient signatures for placement on the November ballot. They will try again for 2016. Organizers hope to qualify two other initiatives to restrict fracking.
Seattle Voters To Be Put To Transit Test in November
Will a large city do what its county voters refused to do—fund the county bus system, though largely within city limits? Seattle voters will be put to the test in November when asked to pay an annual $60 vehicle fee and 0.1% sales tax.
How Park Design Helps Keep Communities Healthy
A review of the healthiest cities in the United States establishes that urban parks play a vital role in the activity of a city. What conclusions can be drawn from each city?
In Search of Clear Transit Platform Signs
Observation of a handful of transit platform sign styles from around the world on their clarity and usefulness.
On the Cittaslow ('Slow City') Movement
Planetizen blogger and professional planner Steven Snell pens another dispatch for Fast Forward Weekly. This time he explains the "Slow" ethos—slow food, slow homes, and, yes, slow cities.
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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.
