Ontario
Ethnic Groups Are Reinterpreting the Burbs
'Fringe Benefits: Cosmopolitan Dynamics of a Multicultural City' is the name of an exhibit open now at the Design Exchange in Toronto. Urban designer Ian Chodikoff explains his inspiration for the show.
GIS Solves Crimes
Cops in Toronto catch a criminal through GIS plotting, and reporter Sara Barbour takes us on a tour of other unusual new applications of GIS.
Would Starbucks and Designer Interiors Get You to Ride Transit?
Toronto's Metrolink brings together city and transportation planners to brainstorm the transit of the future.
Toronto Looks West
This column from the Toronto Star argues that Toronto needs to take at least a few lessons from Vancouver if it wants to improve its planning.
Ottawans Make Case Against Density
Dimitri Roussopoulos of Urban Ecology and Capital Councillor Clive Doucet make the case that city planning in Ottawa ignores the smart growth plan in place, is driven by economics, and is not in the best interest of communities.
Sealed Landfill Leaking 'Orange Goo' Into Residential Area
Oshawa, Ontario residents have noticed a suspicious substance leaking into their community. Development next to the former landfill almost didn't happen because city planners worried about this very possibility.
Why Planning is Like the Judicial System, and Why it Shouldn't Be
Planning has become too much like a court case, with two sides and one winner. According to columnist Christopher Hume, this adversarial nature must be changed.
Should Toronto Put the Bus Stop Up For Sale?
A transportation official in Toronto is hoping to convince colleagues that the system should allow advertisers to buy naming rights for transit stops in the city as a way of increasing revenue, but many remain opposed.
Scaling Down Windsor, Ontario
City Hall in Windsor and the provincial government of Ontario are following the wrong path to revitalization, argue the creators of an influential website called Scaledown Windsor, who think Canada's 'motor city' needs to be reinvented.
Tightening the Belt
A new report praises Ontario's greenbelt - 11 times the size of Toronto - as a model for urban growth control.
Toronto Mulls Corporate Sponsorship for Parks
Short on funding, Toronto's waterfront parks agency is considering a plan to sell the naming rights to the park's amenities, allowing corporate sponsors to add their name to such public features as walkways and play areas.
Urban Trends Erasing Rural Past
Rural communities in Ottawa are being wiped out as urban trends take over the minds of developers and consumers. Rural residents are looking at ways to preserve the character of their communities.
Encouraging Mixed-Use Big Box Retail
By requiring a minimum height of at least two stories, cities could force big boxes to redesign their buildings into more urban friendly forms.
How To Fix The Problem Neighborhood
Like so many drug and crime infested neighborhoods in cities everywhere, ideas abound for fixing the Jane and Fitch neighborhood in Toronto. But will any of them work?
City's Condo Cravings are Self Destruction
Critic Christopher Hume bemoans the destruction of historic homes in Toronto to make way for new residential condo towers.
Is Planning to Blame for Violence?
After a recent shooting death in Toronto, one writer lays the blame for urban violence on city planners.
Ottawa's $4 Billion Transit Plans
Plans were recently announced for a $4 billion revamping and extension of the public transportation system in Ottawa.
Neighborhood's Unchecked Facelift Highlights Poor Planning
Poor planning is allowing uncontrolled and rapid gentrification to destroy Toronto's Liberty Village neighborhood, according to this article from The Toronto Star.
High Rising Along Toronto's Lakefront
Officials in Toronto have announced plans to densify the city's waterfront with a redevelopment effort that stands to create high rises along the lakefront.
'Cathedral Thinking' For Transit
This editorial argues that cities should build transit the way they used to build cathedrals: with a long-term mindset from the start.
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.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
