The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Unincorporated Area Residents Fight City Control
Members of a citizen group in Bull Mountain, an incorporated area in Washington County, Oregon, are at odds with an agreement that would allow cities to provide all urban services and dictate urban growth boundaries.
Thirteen Strategies for Sustainability
How is Kansas City to make itself sustainable? This blog offers 13 strategies, one posted a day, from experts in different fields.
D.C. Stadium Bill is Really TOD Bill in Disguise
This column argues that legislation to build a new stadium for Washington D.C.'s professional soccer team is also a move to jumpstart development around many of the area's transit stations.
FEATURE
Making A 'Playborhood'
Mike Lanza, an entrepreneur in Palo Alto, CA, is using his front yard as a place for his friends and neighbors to gather and play. Julia Galef from the Project for Public Spaces brings us this story.
Friday Funny: Moscow Dogs Commute via Subway
Dogs in Moscow have learned to ride the subway to and from "work".
Boston's Transportation Choices Studied
A draft Environmental Impact Report is now underway to study the proposed routes and power sources for rail extensions south of Boston. Considerations include ridership, wetlands, smart growth benefits, and future development around train stations.
Whither Public Transit?
With a history of paltry funding, decaying infrastructure and soaring demand, the state of public transit in the United States is "perilous."
Las Vegas Mega Development on Shaky Ground
A major retail and tourist project in Las Vegas -- what some are calling the largest project in the world -- is stumbling amid the recession. Its developers and the city are unsure of its future.
States Enjoying Lower Bids for Construction Projects
The recession is causing construction contractors to branch out -- from subdivisions to road projects. And the market is now flooded, giving state more and lower bids to choose from.
Australia a Model of Changing Climate
With years of drought, recent deadly fires, outbreaks of pests and a multitude of other problems, Australia is becoming the poster child for what effects global climate change will have.
Killing the Community Preservation Act
Three Massachusetts towns are looking to kill a 3% property tax that has been funding open space purchases, historic restoration, and affordable housing construction.
What’s in Store for the New HUD Secretary?
Shaun Donovan wants HUD to catalyze shifts in American urban planning, one community at a time. A look at the optimistic HUD secretary, who has been given the task of fixing the housing market—and making over a broken government agency.
CO Springs to Bring Downtown Back to Life
Colorado Springs planners have put two ambitious plans on the table: The first, a brand new Master Plan for its downtown, and the second, a form-based code.
Tall Towers Break Records, in Height and Numbers
The number and average heights of skyscrapers erected in 2008 are the highest ever thanks to a “lag effect” in the market and a shift toward sustainability.
LA Buys its Foreclosed Homes to Refurbish and Resell
Los Angeles has begun using its $33 million in funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to jumpstart neighborhoods blighted by foreclosure. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan visited a South Los Angeles neighborhood Wednesday.
How to Rekindle America's Love Affair with the Car
The Daily Show's resident "problem solver" John Hodgman offers his advice on renewing America's "love affair with the car": eliminate public transit and bomb foreign auto makers. [Video]
Using Pollution to Fight Global Warming
The Obama administration is entertaining proposals for using 'geoengineering' to fight global warming, including shooting pollution into the upper atmosphere to reflect back the warming rays.
Transportation Reauthorzation Bill Is MAP-21
"Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century", or MAP-21, follows the path of predecessors SAFETEA-LU, TEA -21, and ISTEA. In this press release by the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works, Chairman Barbara Boxer of CA launches the bill.
The I.O.U. Tollbooth
The Northwest Parkway in Denver has very little traffic in the wee hours, so officials decided to experiment with I.O.U. forms left at the booth.
Pagination
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.