Exclusives

FEATURE

Maureen McAvey, Executive Vice President with the Urban Land Institute, spoke recently to a congressional committee on the growing problem of federal buildings that are designed with myopic attention to security and ignore urban growth strategies.

June 3 - Maureen McAvey

BLOG POST

<p> In a <a href="/node/44089">recent Planetizen post</a> I argued that the unfolding oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico may be perhaps our last warning to move more aggressively on renewable energy and a less energy-dependent built environment. What follows is an effort to outline additional implications for planning, to gain an understanding of the scale of this emergency and how it may impact planning in the months and years to come. Ecologically, economically and socially this is going to be like nothing we’ve ever seen before.  </p>

June 2 - Michael Dudley

BLOG POST

<span style="color: black"><span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">Planning students are often told to find good information. How to do that is becoming both simpler, due to various search engines and databases, and more complex, given the amount of information available.

May 31 - Ann Forsyth

BLOG POST

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small">My career is based, to a large degree, on my master’s thesis, which was a comprehensive evaluation of the full costs of various forms of transport. This provides a framework for determining optimal pricing, calculating the benefits of mode shifting and <a href="http://www.vtpi.org/tdm">demand management</a> strategies, and for comprehensive analysis of policy and planning decisions.

May 31 - Todd Litman

BLOG POST

<p> You really need to almost get hit by a car to feel like a true Johannesburg pedestrian. That&#39;s the way it goes here. A huge, sprawling greater metropolitan area of about 10 million people covering more than 600 square miles, the city is built for the car. And if you&#39;re not in one, good luck.

May 31 - Nate Berg

FEATURE

May 27 - Tim Halbur

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal"><span>For most planning programs in the U.S. this is the end of the semester. Having read literally hundreds of papers over the past few months I have reflected on the lessons of better papers for writing in planning.</span></p>

May 25 - Ann Forsyth

BLOG POST

Scandinavian countries are often praised for the forward-looking planning practices associated with social democracy. Urban planning there includes lots of enviable features, but a tour of a high-profile project outside Oslo, Norway was a reminder that even an urbanist’s paradise includes political fights, squabbles among interests, and embarrassing delays familiar anywhere else. Progressive politics encourage progressive plans, but the process and pitfalls remain the same.<br />

May 24 - Greg Smithsimon

FEATURE

Nikos Salingaros presents the case for demolishing a modernist eyesore in Rome and replacing it with a high-density, mixed-use New Urbanist neighborhood.

May 24 - Nikos Salingaros

BLOG POST

<p> I&#39;m at the 18th Congress for the New Urbanism, always a stimulating affair and this year is no exception. We&#39;re in Atlanta, Georgia, although I&#39;ve unfortunately not seen much of the city beyond a few leafy, upscale blocks past the anonymous section of downtown. Right now, I&#39;m waiting for a session on &quot;The Great American Grid&quot; to begin, undoubtedly a topic of some interest to our readers considering the comments inspired by Fanis Grammenos&#39; <a href="/node/41290">dismissal of America&#39;s grid worship</a>. </p>

May 21 - Tim Halbur

BLOG POST

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small">There are various ways to define building sustainability. A narrow perspective assumes that <em>sustainable development</em> simply means that buildings minimize energy consumption and climate change emissions, but a broader perspective recognizes that sustainability requires consideration of additional economic, social and other environmental impacts, such as lifecycle affordability, social equity, community integration, public health and safety, and land use impacts.

May 20 - Todd Litman

FEATURE

People need to stop thinking about cities as bundles of technical problems that the planners must solve for them and to start thinking about the different ways that they would live in different types of cities, says Charles Siegel.

May 20 - Charles Siegel

FEATURE

When we think of sprawl, we usually picture suburban life. But inner cities also took on the character of sprawl when freeways came in and were buildings torn down, say Christopher T. McCahill and Norman Garrick.

May 17 - Norman Garrick

BLOG POST

<p> Tomorrow morning, I&#39;ll don a long black robe, a funny-looking hat and an atrocious brown hood to cap off an adventuresome journey through planning school. Almost two years ago, <a href="/node/34730">I decided to leave a healthy career</a> in journalism to enter a field that, by contrast, might still <em>have</em> careers a decade from now. It&#39;s been 21 months of angst, overwork, undersleep, and hours-long battles with American FactFinder. And it&#39;s been completely, totally worth it. </p> <p> Here are a few of the best lessons learned from two hard-fought years of planning education. </p>

May 16 - Jeffrey Barg

BLOG POST

<!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal">As planners, we try to live the urban lifestyle, minimize our carbon footprint, and even grow our own vegetables.<span>  </span>I once saw a colleague wearing a button which read “Riding transit is sexy.” Lose the car, bike or walk to work. Hey, if you’re adventurous, you can even take the bus. But this is easier said than done. I’ve lived in New Haven, Boston, Philadelphia, and now Miami. And as every year passes, I find it more and more challenging to cling to my planning ideals.</p><p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>

May 10 - Melissa Hege

FEATURE

Next month's World Cup in South Africa will bring a lot of attention to the country, and a lot of opportunity. Though many hope the country will see an economic benefit, the biggest impact is likely to be the creation of urban infrastructure.

May 10 - Nate Berg

FEATURE

The plot of the summer blockbuster Iron Man 2 revolves around a fictional 1974 Expo, with the slogan "Better Living Through Technology." Managing Editor Tim Halbur says the film reflects the misplaced faith in technology and innovation that still drives Americans optimism.

May 9 - Tim Halbur

FEATURE

Break out the Bunsen burner: Ric Stephens has broken down the science of city planning into this handy chart of elements.

May 6 - Ric Stephens

BLOG POST

<p class="ecxMsoNormal"> How can one measure the housing affordability of a city or region?<span>  </span>One common option is to focus on a region’s median home price (or the median home price divided by median income).<span>  </span>I’ve used this method myself, and regional medians will often be the best tool available. </p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> But sometimes, this method leads to absurd results.<span>  </span>For example, the median home price for metropolitan Atlanta is $150,000, which makes Atlanta seem like a remarkably affordable housing market.(1) </p>

May 5 - Michael Lewyn

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal"> <span><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--></span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span>What began on April 20^th as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_drilling_rig_explosion">tragic industrial accident that claimed 11 lives</a> is turning into an unprecedented ecological disaster. </span> </p>

May 5 - Michael Dudley