The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
How Difficult is Consensus?
The Los Angeles City Planning Commission delayed a vote on several proposed amendments to the city's cultural heritage ordinance because of a lack of consensus among the speakers.
The Challenge of Balancing Cars and People
Ft. Worth transportation planner Don Koski talks about the challenges and rewards of being a transportation planner in Ft. Worth, Texas.
With New Rail Expansions, TOD Is On The Rise
An overview in the New York Times of the success of transit-oriented development around new rail lines. TOD succeeds even in a poor housing market, experts say.
The Transformation of Harlem
Photographer Camilo Jose Vergara's pictures document Harlem's journey from a "rundown version of Paris" in the 1970s to the "global Harlem" of luxury condos and corporate franchises [includes slideshow].
FEATURE
Reinventing America's Cities: Discovering Opportunities by Challenging Biases
Dr. Aseem Inam takes writers on urbanism and architecture to task for spreading stereotypes about "third world cities", particularly when used to generalize about urban form.
Transit's Big Dig Begins In Jersey
New Jersey Transit has broken ground on what may be the nation's most costly transit project: a commuter rail tunnel under the Hudson River to a new Penn Station Expansion that, to the chagrin of transit advocates, will not connect to Penn Station.
Rising Costs of Farmland Affecting Suburban Growth
As farmland prices skyrocketed, so did the cost of growing a suburb.
Developers Could Skirt Approval Process
DuPage County may let developers bypass the County Board for project approval if they develop low- to moderate-income housing projects.
BLOG POST
Top Five Concerns About New Bike Lanes In Our Community
<p> I live in Hoboken, New Jersey. It is a small (~50k residents), very densely populated city (fourth in the country), with high pedestrian volumes and some hairy traffic issues in certain areas. With heavy rail, light rail, subway, bus, ferry, taxi, bicycle, pedestrian, and para-transit all converging at Hoboken Terminal, it is also home to perhaps the richest intermodal transportation facility in the world (in terms of modes). It is often characterized as feeling European, or like Brooklyn, take your pick. Recently, we have been successful in implementing a nascent bicycle plan that includes bike lanes striped along the length of two north/south avenues in the heart of the city. Cross streets are next with “sharrows" since these streets are too narrow for exclusive
California Drying Up
Climate models show that California -- the source of one third of America's food supply -- is running out of its reliable water supply.
Toughest Recyclers In the West (Or Anywhere)?
The city of San Francisco approves a plan to require composting and recycling citywide by this fall, with fines kicking in within two years.
BLOG POST
VMT Reductions: An Excellent Idea When Correctly Evaluated
<strong><span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Calibri">OK Bob – I’ll Take Your Challenge</span></span></strong> <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small; font-family: Calibri">Last year, California, passed SB 375, which requires regional governments to develop smart growth-oriented land use and transportation plans aimed at reducing VMT.
Express Lanes And Transit Headed To LA Freeways
The largest recipient of the U.S. DOT 2008 Urban Partnership Agreement are two freeways in LA County where carpool lanes will be converted to Express Lanes with dynamic pricing with additional, clean fuel buses, all funded by the $210 million grant.
Horse Tracks Place Bets On Infill Redevelopment
Several horse racing tracks in California have suffered declining revenues and are being redeveloped, with speculation about more closures on the way.
Driving Less and Flying Less, Too
Figures from the U.S. Department of Transportation show that the number of nationwide air passengers has declined from the previous year.
BLOG POST
How walkable is it?
<p class="MsoNormal"> Recently, an acquaintance asked me how to measure the walkability of a place he was visiting.<span> </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> I could have told him to just look at Walkscore (<a href="http://www.walkscore.com/">www.walkscore.com</a>). <span> </span>Walkscore assigns scores to places based on their proximity to a wide variety of destinations.<span> </span>So if a place has a high walkscore AND a walkable street design (e.g. narrow streets, a grid system, etc.) it is probably pretty walkable. </p>
In Detroit, Tiger Stadium Demolition Enters the Home Stretch
After a long battle by preservationists, what's left of the 97-year-old ballpark -- home of the Detroit Tigers from 1912-1999 -- is being demolished.
Transit Operating Aid in War Bill
House and Senate negotiators decided a $106 billion war bill, from which 10 percent would be granted to transit operating costs.
Fewer Cars for Better Cities
Cities are warming up to the idea that planning for the future means more car sharing programs and fewer parking spaces.
Commuter Buses Have Atlantans Fuming
Idling commuter buses in Atlanta cause air pollution and traffic congestion, and locals are getting fed up.
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.
