Smart Growth
Turning an Aging Train Station Into a TOD Hub
Wyandanch, in Babylon, NY is using an old asset to become new urban.
Smart Growth Worries School Board
The school board of Chicopee, Massachusetts is concerned that a proposed smart growth district would overwhelm the school system.
Sustainable: Buzz Killing the Buzz Word
In his commentary, Rob Steuteville questions whether we should work toward sustaining what we have, or building a more resilient future.
Cities Gaining People? Hardly
Aaron Renn, The Urbanophile, argues that the stats actually show that cities are losing people in their urban cores, not gaining them.
A Closer Look at Dockside Green
Dockside Green, a development in Victoria, B.C., is a breathtaking model of urban regeneration, brownfield reuse, green design, and community building, says Ken Pirie.
Preference Driving Move For More Homes in Cities
The EPA reports that residential construction in cities has outpaced the building of suburban homes, and that the reason is not planners dictating smart growth but the personal preference of homebuyers and renters.
No Dough for Smart Growth
The desire to create walkable neighborhoods is alive in cities around the U.S., but the recession has made it difficult or impossible to follow through.
The Challenges of Sustaining Smart Growth Over Time
In the late '90s a trio of North Carolina suburbs tried to ditch their suburban past with a new, much lauded Smart Growth planning effort that revised the way they used their land. The success of the celebrated developments didn't last long.
A Win for WalMart
A pro-smart growth group in Lockport, NY attempted to stop a WalMart Supercenter from being built in their town, but the state supreme court rejected their appeal.
Smart Growth On The Hill
HUD, DOT and EPA have pulled together under the Obama administration's direction to create sustainable communities, and Sen. Chris Dodd is trying to make it official with a new office under HUD. But can smart growth policies survive the politics?
Smart Growth and Australia
As managing editor of Planetizen, I'd like to make a quick note on today's op-ed, Resisting Dickensian Gloom by Tony Recsei. Mr Recsei asked for a chance to respond to a recent criticism of his work by Planetizen regular Michael Dudley. It is our policy at Planetizen to allow points of view that are critical of the status quo in urban planning, so I agreed to run the piece. I did ask Mr. Recsei to tone down some of the more personal attacks on smart growthers so that his points could be presented more clearly to our audience, and I believe he has done that.
Resisting Dickensian Gloom
High-density development in Australia is causing more greenhouse gases than the suburbs, argues Dr. Tony Recsei of the group Save Our Suburbs, in this rebuttal of a blog post by Michael Dudley.
How Bill's Hotel Room Saved Some Trees
Bill Fulton was prepping for a panel on transferable development rights programs for last weekend's New Partners for Smart Growth conference in Seattle when he realized the hotel he was in was the beneficiary of just such a program.
Carfree Design Manual
As planners, one of our roles is to help stretch the scope of what is considered possible. For example, between 1950 and 2000 most development was highly automobile-dependent, based on the assumption that almost all travel would be by personal automobile and other modes were relatively unimportant. This pattern is so well established that many people have difficulty imagining anything different. It is useful to help people understand the full range of options available, from automobile dependency to carfree communities.
Thinking Through the Right Transportation in the Right Place at the Right Time
In an earlier post, I discussed the difference between mobility, accessibility, and transportation technology. In today’s post, I want to discuss what I think is the next step in this taxonomy in terms of the implications for the built environment and urban planning. More specifically, we need to move beyond the idea that certain transportation technologies—whether it is a car, a bus, a train, or our feet—are substitutes.
Always Begin With the Stuff You've Got
That's how newly-developed communities are making it work, says Laura Wright in this in-depth look at how sprawl happened in Chicago and how smart growth is revitalizing the city.
Smart Growth From the Environmental Perspective
Kaid Benfield of the NRDC reviews The Smart Growth Manual by Andres Duany, Jeff Speck and Mike Lydon. Benfield gives it high marks for style and substance, and for the way it incorporates environmental issues.
Liveability a "Major Priority" at DOT
Among the criteria for evaluating projects, livability is at the top, along with safety and economic competitiveness.
And the Winners Are...
Kaid Benfield offers an overview of the winners of the EPA's 2009 national awards for smart growth achievement.
The Corner Store Returns
Market forces are reshaping the usual suburban format for many large-scale grocers.
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
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
