Exclusives
BLOG POST
The Trouble With Monuments to the Living
Living public figures, whether they be Lockyer, Haggarty, Sarah Palin, or Mummar Gaddafi generate their own fanfare. They do not need a building, an airport, or a trail to speak for them.
BLOG POST
Planners' Sacred Trust
<p class="MsoNormal">Most professions have special responsibilities to society. Physicians are expected to observe the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath">Hippocratic oath</a>. Police officers must apply the law fairly and refrain from abusing their power. Lawyers and accountants are expected to offer accurate advice and protect client confidentiality.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And planners? We have a special responsibility to consider all perspectives and impacts. When evaluating public policy questions most people ask selfishly, “How does this affect me?” Planners, in contrast, should ask selflessly, “How does this affect the community, particularly disadvantaged and underrepresented groups?”</p>
FEATURE
Portland's Portal of Opportunity
FEATURE
Every City For Itself: Adapting to Climate Change
What cities are best prepared for climate change, and which will falter? Josh Stephens reviews <em>Climatopolis: How Our Cities Will Thrive in a Hotter Future</em> by Matthew Kahn.
BLOG POST
The Next Urbanism: A Movement Evolves
Since 2004, the Next Generation of New Urbanists (NextGen) has welcomed new ideas and new faces into the Congress for the New Urbanism.
BLOG POST
Obtaining Letters of Reference for Graduate School in Planning
<p> <span><span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">I’ve had a lot of students ask me recently about who should write a letter of reference as they apply to graduate school. I have a policy on my own web site stating when I will <a href="http://www.annforsyth.net/forstudents.html#ReferenceLetters" target="_blank">write a letter</a> but there are more general principles that hold across many faculty members and programs.</span></span></span><span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small"> </span></span> </p>
BLOG POST
A War On Cars? Let There Be Peace!
<p class="MsoNormal">Our job as planners is ultimately to <a href="http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm114.htm">manage change</a>, which is often fun but occasionally ugly. A good example is a current debate over a supposed <a href="http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2011/01/03/war-on-cars-a-history">“war against the car.”</a> </p>
BLOG POST
City Livability Rankings, and the struggle for the Complete City
<span style="font-size: small">A few weeks ago, the Economist Intelligence Unit (the business side of Economist magazine) released its <strong><a href="/node/48218" target="_blank">annual global Livable Cities rankings</a></strong></span><span style="font-size: small">. Like the similar Mercer rankings, the EIU efforts aren't officially meant for urbanist's bragging rights - such rankings are used in human resource circles in corporate placements, related to such tools as "hardship allowances".
BLOG POST
What the foreclosure data teaches us
<p> I recently finished reading <em>Foreclosing the Dream</em>, by William Lucy. The most interesting parts of this book are the first chapter and the last appendix, both of which tell us where foreclosures are (or at least were in 2008, before the foreclosure crisis morphed into an international economic downturn). These figures seem to me to debunk at least a couple of the more popular explanations of the foreclosure crisis, such as: </p> <p> Myth 1: "Its all the fault of too much lending to the urban poor." </p>
FEATURE
$4 per Gallon Gas – Are We Ready?
With gas prices increasing rapidly, Scott Bernstein of the Center for Neighborhood Technology says the most effective solution is to reduce the demand by creating more "location-efficient" communities.
BLOG POST
Homeland Security Frequency Jam?!? What to do When Public Participation Goes Terribly Wrong
In 2009 we worked with Ron Thomas, Mary Means, and Goody Clancy to help plan and run a large 500+ person visioning event in the town of Shreveport. We set up the event the night before with computers at every table for brainstorming and a [...]
FEATURE
Top 10 Websites - 2011
Our annual list of the 10 best planning, design, and development websites represents some of the top online resources for news, information and research on the built environment.
BLOG POST
Fukushima, Earth Hour and Sacrifice
<p> The Fukushima reactors and their associated buildings have been exploding, melting and burning for not quite a week yet, but already the sense of déjà vu is inescapable.
FEATURE
More Vehicles Than People
BLOG POST
Threats of Gridlock are Greatly Exaggerated
<p class="MsoNormal">A few weeks ago the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) released its latest <a href="http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/media_information/press_release.stm">Urban Mobility Report</a>, and yesterday INRIX released its <a href="http://scorecard.inrix.com/scorecard/">National Traffic Scorecard 2010 Annual Report</a>. Both paint a grim picture of roadway conditions.</p><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: none; padding: 0px"> <p class="MsoNormal"> “America is back on the road to gridlock,” warns INRIX. </p>
FEATURE
Making Room for a Planet of Cities
As cities in developing countries expand, is smart growth the right approach? The conclusions of a new report by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy may surprise you.
BLOG POST
NYT Essay On Sadik-Khan Misses Forest For Trees
<p> Working for a small municipality - regardless of its location - has all the isolating properties of a far-away fiefdom. So it has been with great consternation that, despite being nary a narrow river's width from that island, I have been yet so far removed from the industry-insider privileges of working on transportation projects in Manhattan. I am, admittedly, all but entirely absorbed by work in the New York City satellite of Hoboken, NJ, and while aware of progress as reported by the media, have nonetheless lost granular touch with the revolutionary day-to-day goings-on in my career's former epicenter. From this side of the Hudson I read the broad <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/nyregion/06sadik-khan.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&adxnnlx=1299299134-EbMLr
BLOG POST
Census 2010: the early returns
<p> Census data is already in for a couple of dozen states, and already blogs are starting to speculate about their lessons for American cities. Some commentators look at the continued decline of Rust Belt cities like Chicago and St. Louis, and suggest that suburban sprawl continues (and will forever continue) unabated. But reality is not quite so simple. </p>
BLOG POST
How Smart Are 'Intelligent Cities'?
<p>Most trends are fleeting, some of them mercifully so. Some last no longer than a Lady Gaga wardrobe change. But urbanism is still, by and large, a leisurely exercise, so it's no wonder that planners still embrace fashions on a nearly generational basis. It often takes that long just to see if something works. Or not. <br /><br />So, while Gaga would inspire us to attach telephones to our heads and light our bustiers on fire, planners who ascribe to the principles of smart growth are still rhetorically swaddling cities in the urban equivalent of flannel. For better or worse, this age may finally be coming to a close. Don't cry, Monster.</p>
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
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.
