The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Walkability Makes Housing More Expensive
A new study shows that improving streets with widened sidewalks, better lighting and other walkability measures can increase the nearby home value as much as $50,000.
Do Stop Signs Make Streets Safer?
When communities feel like street traffic is unsafe, they usually demand stop signs or traffic lights to be installed. But studies show that those devices may actually make streets less safe.
Using Adaptive Reuse as a Tool for Urban Redevelopment
Architect Alan Pullman talks about how adaptive reuse and green architecture can be used to revitalize urban neighborhoods and springboard economic growth, using a recent project to demonstrate.
A Parking Lot is a Terrible Thing to Waste
Smart growth proponents are fighting a New Jersey transit agency plan that would lease out dozens of parking facilities to private operators for 30 to 50 years.
Walk, Don't Drive, to the Real Estate Recovery
The New York Times, in a front page article, was startled to conclude that the housing market continued to suffer, because "buyers now demand something smaller, cheaper and, thanks to $4 a gallon gas, as close to their jobs as possible."
The Case Against Redevelopment Agencies
An article in <em>City Journal</em> praises Governor Jerry Brown's efforts to defund California's redevelopment agencies at a time when the state faces a $26 billion deficit. The author writes that the agencies are wasteful and ineffective.
Bikenomics and the Energy Crisis
Writing for <em>Grist</em>, Elly Blue explains that part of the solution to the oil/energy crisis in the United States is to approach the issue as a transportation issue, not a geopolitical one. She especially advocates for increased bike use.
Reinventing Madrid
The completed <em>Madrid Rio Project</em> will transform a highway into a large urban park, and is just part of the ambitious agenda of Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, an agenda that earned him the nickname "the pharaoh."
When is Historic Preservation Just Misplaced Nostalgia?
With projects in the U.S. and the U.K., architect Rafael Vinoly attempts to navigate "the hazy and treacherous borderlands that lie between architectural history and public nostalgia."
The Yin and Yang of Urban Redevelopment in Hong Kong
Researchers from the University of Washington trace the history and development of Hong Kong, the skyscraper capital of the world, from reclamation of waterfront land in the 1800's to contentious urban renewal projects today.
A Road Tax on Electric Cars
WA state is considering the nation's first fee on electric cars to cover road wear since they pay no gas tax, the primary funding mechanism for funding road maintenance and construction. However, critics point out that the fee is flat, not variable.
An Interview With the Director of NYC's Active Design Program
Joyce Lee discusses NYC's Active Design Guidelines and how they address the relationship between urban form and public health.
Neighbors Take Desire for Park Space Personally
A community in Salt Lake City is pooling their cash to purchase an empty lot owned by the LDS (Mormon) Church for a much-needed park. They hope to give the land to the city to maintain, but the church and state may not be on board with the plan.
FEATURE
Planners and the Jane Jacobs Conundrum
When it comes to Jane Jacobs, planners pick and choose what they find useful, says Roberta Brandes Gratz, missing Jacobs central argument for grass-roots, bottom-up planning. Gratz reviews a new book "Reconsidering Jane Jacobs."
Why Intercity Bus Travel is Growing
Intercity bus travel is the fastest growing mode of travel for the third year in a row. This piece from <em>New Geography</em> looks at why.
Growth and Decline in the World's 590 Most Populated Cities
This interactive visualization presents population data and projections for the world's 590 most populated, showing how their populations compare to one another over time.
D.C. to Get More Streetcars
With $100 million set aside in D.C.'s budget for streetcars, the D.C.'s Department of Transportation is looking at opening new streetcar lines on M and K Streets.
State Subsidies Enable the Southwest's Largest New Urbanist Development
It's at Albuquerque's edge, it's the size of Manhattan, and it's happening, despite drought, recession and tightening state budgets. An annotation of Mesa del Sol's master plan explains how and why.
Another CEQA Lawsuit Prevents Streetscape Improvements
The improvements involve a lane reduction for a 3 1/2 block business district in Palo Alto known as California Avenue. The four-lane street is within a "pedestrian-transit oriented district" due to a Caltrain station at the end of the avenue.
Skyscrapers of the Future
The 2011 eVolo Skyscraper Competition turned up some unusual and futuristic designs for future skyscrapers and other structures, from a reimagined Hoover Dam to a Ferris Wheel-shaped wind turbine.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
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.
