Smartphones
The Best Planning Apps for 2014
We have compiled a list of mobile apps to support planning, as part of our annual update. Learn about exciting new ways to explore cities and enhance planning via mobile apps. Please feel free to add your own favorites.
NYC Parking Meters Set to Get Smart
Outgoing mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that New York’s drivers will soon be able to pay for street parking via their smartphones after a successful pilot project undertaken in the Bronx.
Making the Camera Your Friend
The role of photography in urban planning should not be underestimated. Visual communication is incredibly important and powerful. Michael Heater provides a guide to using photos to remember, inspire, and create.
Have Internet, Will Travel—Just Not By Car
A new report from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund looks at how innovations in technology and social networking are changing the country's transportation landscape, and contributing to the decline in driving.
Rideshare Industry Gets a Lift With New California Regulations
On Wednesday, California became the first state in the nation to adopt rules for ridesharing. Several cities (including New York, L.A., and D.C.) have struggled to tame the bourgeoning industry amid protests by entrenched taxi interest groups.
Buy Mass Transit Tickets With a Smartphone In Portland
Portland launches first U.S. mobile ticketing apps to enable mass transit riders to buy tickets with their iPhone and Android smartphones.
There's a Planning App for That
For my annual update of the apps that support planning I've compiled a list of the latest applications for sharing information, visualizations, sensing, predicting, supporting decision making, crowdsourcing, and engaging.
How Location-Based Data Can Improve Government Services
With three-quarters of smartphone owners accessing real-time location-based information, the biggest names in technology - from Apple to Google - are working to mine the value of location-based data. Can local governments do the same?
Can V-Poles Replace Urban Clutter?
Vancouver will attempt to address urban clutter with innovative multifunctional utility poles that house Wi-Fi and telecom services, as well as other amenities, designed by none other than famed novelist Douglas Coupland.
How Smartphones Are Upending the Value of Real Estate
It used to be that visibility was the most important factor in siting a business. This may no longer be the case, argues Kevin Klinkenberg, as smartphones make location irrelevant.
The Mall, Your Smartphone, and You
Elaine Misonzhnik says the time is soon coming where having a smartphone at the mall will be a necessity instead of a luxury.
Using Crowds, and GPS, to Chart Roadkill
Ron Ringen has logged more than 1,400 animals for a roadkill project. "I'm almost a fanatic with it," he said. "You get hooked."
Transit and Car-Sharing Get Boost from Technology
The increase in transit ridership and carsharing isn't just due to the rise in gas prices, but also the rise in new technologies providing up-to-the-minute reports on location and ride availability.
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.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
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
