The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Bikes to Get Buck in New Portland Budget
Portland Mayor Sam Adams has pledged to increase the amount of money dedicated to bicycle planning and bicycle infrastructure from 4% to 17% in the city's next budget.
Tight Timeline A Challenge for Doha Metro
Doha wants to have a fully functioning metro rail system in place by the time Qatar hosts the 2022 World Cup, but the tight deadline of the event has some officials worried the system won't be complete in time.
Booming West Faces Busted Water Supply
Projections of water shortages and predicted changes in the climate mean bad news for water users in the American West.
BLOG POST
On defining "Sprawl"
<p> Last week, I was busy trying to turn my paper on sprawl in Canada (available at http://works.bepress.com/lewyn/65/) into a speech. In my paper, I define sprawl in two ways: where we grow (measured by growth or decline of central cities, controlling for municipal annexations) and how we grow (measured by modal shares for cars and transit). As I was proofing, I asked myself: why these particular measurements? What presuppositions underlie defining sprawl based on, say, modal share as opposed to the growth of a urban area's land mass? </p>
L.A. Second-Best When it Comes to Transit
Honolulu has the most accessible public transit in the U.S., but apparently the same state with the worst traffic in the nation has the 2nd-most convenient transit.
Despite Smear, Vancouver Density is Key to City
In Vancouver, urban density is being attacked as a detriment to the city. But as this column argues, the city's emphasis on density and transit accessibility is what makes the city great.
Houston: City of the Year?
Fast Company chooses Houston as its 2011 City of the Year, citing its sense of opportunity and general affordability as the major reasons for its selection.
How Far Will People Walk to a Park?
Ryan Donahue of the Trust for Public Land says that it depends on age, health, time availability, quality of surroundings, safety, climate, and many other factors.
Real Estate of the Rich and Tyrannical
With Bin Laden's Abbotabad hideaway still in the news, Rob Bear takes us on a tour of despot's palaces and hideaways.
Loved Cities Prosper
When people love a city, it succeeds. That's the semi-obvious conclusion of a recent survey. So why aren't we working hard to make cities people will love?
Preserving Industrial Areas for Jobs
Only 10% of the City of Vancouver, B.C. isn't zoned for residences, and that 10% holds 50% of the city's jobs. Planning director Brent Toderian says it is imperative to preserve the remaining industrial land for employment.
Is the High Line's Success Replicable?
Witold Rybczynski thinks not, saying that the success of the project's "landscape urbanism" is its remarkably dense and urban setting, not the hip design and landscaping.
An Urban Protest Movement Arises in Beirut
A new anti-sectarian political movement has emerged in Lebanon challenging the government. It is mimicking the successful urban strategies of ongoing Arab revolutions, like the occupation of public spaces.
Street Artist JR Turns Stoops Into Portraits
Faces are appearing in Brooklyn, plastered along the slats of front stoops as part of a participatory public art project by famous French street artist JR.
To Beat The Backlash, Expand The Bike Network, Say Planners
Bike lanes have become one of the most controversial topics in all of New York City. For cycling to take hold, the city needs to make sure all groups have equal access to cycling, say a team of Hunter College grad students.
Density Supports Great Retail Environments in Hong Kong
Policy in Hong Kong dictates that development must concentrate on only 25% of the land area, with the remaining 75% preserved as open space. Julia Levitt examines the ingenious density that results.
Emergency Avenue
Your streets could be killing you -- or at least making it harder for emergency services to reach you in times of need.
Investigation Uncovers String of HUD Failures
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has supported roughly 700 affordable housing projects around the country that have never been completed, some stalling out for over a decade.
New York's Unique Storefronts
How to Be A Retronaut features a smattering of photos of New York's unique storefronts, taken by photographers James and Karla Murray. Since the book's release, about a third of the stores have faded from existence.
D.C. Transit Data Now Available on Google Maps
Google announces the addition of D.C.'s Metro and bus routes to their online and mobile maps, including connections to other commuter transit systems.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
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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
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.
