District of Columbia
New Yorkers Breathe Easier as the City's Buildings Clean Up Their Act
A Bloomberg administration effort to get New York's most polluting buildings to convert to cleaner heating fuels has provided remarkable results, a new study reports.
Not So Fast Feds, Say D.C. Planners, We Want Major Changes to Height Limits
In D.C.'s ongoing height limit saga, the other shoe has dropped. Just two weeks after the federal government recommended minimal changes to the limits, their partner in the study - D.C.'s Office of Planning - has come to a very different conclusion.
Co-Ops Provide a Path to Preserve Affordable Housing
Unlike in New York, housing cooperatives are a rare find in DC. Tucked into neighborhoods like Logan Circle and Columbia Heights, they are "relatively unknown". But they provide a "great source of stable, affordable housing," writes Elizabeth Falcon.
Are Parking Garages Headed the Way of Horse Stables?
In Washington D.C., and cities across the U.S., many planners believe the decline in driving and auto ownership presages a major reshaping of urban land use. As the demand for parking spaces wanes, how will our streets and blocks change?
Speed Cameras 2.0: Ticketing More Than Just Speeding
DC traffic scofflaws beware: You may be recorded! In one of the nation's most comprehensive use of traffic cameras, motorists who run stop signs or don't stop for peds in crosswalks could find a "ticket in the mail". Plus, 132 cameras will be added.
Improving Mobility Requires a Multimodal Consideration of Congestion
As urban populations increase and drivers seek to escape crowded commutes, America's urban transit systems are becoming increasingly congested. For TDM professionals to improve mobility for all, they must first change how they conceive of congestion.
Can Designers Turn a D.C. Park into the City's "Town Square"?
At Franklin Park, a group of Washington city planners and their team of consultants are seeking to succeed where others have failed - revive an old D.C. park - and provide a model for similar spaces in the process.
Study Likely to Recommend Few Changes to D.C. Height Limits
A congressionally mandated study into potentially altering D.C.'s Height of Buildings Act of 1910, which has kept the city's skyline uniquely low, will recommend small tweaks to the rules and further study of relaxing limits outside downtown.
Housing Lottery Attests to D.C. Area's Affordability Crisis
Applicants began lining up before dawn for a chance to land one of 122 affordable apartments being built in Arlington, VA. More than 3,600 people have applied in total, surprising the developers and pointing to the area's increasing unaffordability.
D.C. is Nation's Capital of Bad Driving, Once Again
All of that Congressional gridlock seems to be causing a lot of accidents. For the sixth year in a row, Washington D.C.'s drivers have come in last place in Allstate’s annual "America’s Best Drivers" report.
Economists Agree: The Olympics are a Terrible Investment
As a group from Washington, D.C. announced plans to bid for the 2024 Olympics, economists released a report on the high costs of hosting the Games for cities, including expensive infrastructure and small economic benefits.
Cities vs Suburbs: Where do Parents Want to Raise Their Children?
Tanya Snyder wades into the ongoing discussion over whether America's urban revival can be sustained, a question that essentially hinges on whether cities are creating an attractive alternative to the suburbs for raising children.
Would You Live in D.C.'s 'Middle Finger' Monstrosity?
It's being called 'the Monstrosity' and a 'middle finger to taste and scale', but you'd be wrong if you called it illegal. The three story 'pop-up' a developer has added to a two-story DC rowhouse has engendered a spirited debate amid a growing city.
What Would You Pay for America's Most Important Home?
When President Obama sat with real estate website Zillow for an online discussion this week, he may have been surprised to see the site turn its appraisal eye on his current home. See how much they think the 132-room mansion he occupies would fetch.
D.C. Bike Share a Victim of Its Own Success
With 174 stations in DC, and more than 200 throughout the region, Capital Bikeshare has logged almost 5 million rides since it launched in 2010. The program's immense popularity has caused some problems however, with demand often outstripping supply.
Are Stadiums Akin to Museums and Libraries?
As D.C. debates the value of subsidizing the construction of a soccer stadium on a site in Buzzard Point, Dan Malouff argues that such facilities should be judged as cultural amenities, rather than business investments.
Is a Subsidized Soccer Stadium a Smart Investment for D.C.?
Recently it was announced that D.C. had reached a tentative agreement to help fund a new soccer stadium to be built in an area of the city that has long resisted redevelopment. Stadiums are generally a bad deal for cities, but is this an exception?
Pop-Ups Smooth Tysons' Urban Transformation
A multi-decade vision will transform the auto-oriented DC suburb of Tysons Corner into a vibrant, walkable place. While the subway extension at the heart of the plan will open this year, development will take time. Pop-ups will help bridge the gap.
54 Ideas for Fixing D.C.
In advance of next year's mayoral race, the Washington City Paper has reached out to local leaders for their suggestions for how to fix one of the city's intractable problems. See their 28 detailed, and 26 simple, solutions.
New Study Makes Economic Case for Increasing D.C. Height Limits
As part of a study into potential changes to D.C.'s Height of Buildings Act requested by Congress, the results of an economic feasibility analysis were presented this week. Relaxing limits would create jobs and several thousand new housing units.
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
