Landscape Architecture

The Role of Public Space in Community Improvement

Creating beautiful public spaces is crucial to improving sense of community, according to urban designers looking to revitalize the Mississippi town of Tupelo.

February 26, 2008 - Daily Journal (Northeast Mississippi)

Injecting Public Space into Palm Springs

Palm Springs -- once the epicenter of Spring Break -- is criticized by many for lacking public spaces. Now, a collection of architects, planners and urban designers have put out some ideas for improving the city.

February 25, 2008 - The Desert Sun

Atlanta's Beltline Project Soldiers On -- But Without a Lot of Cash

After the Georgia Supreme Court ruled the Beltline project could not use school funds from a tax-increment financing funding source, what next?

February 25, 2008 - Creative Loafing

The Cleaning Power of Landscape Architecture

This post from Pruned looks at a proposal to turn a contaminated reservoir into a "bioremediating ecological machine".

February 25, 2008 - Pruned

Tree Maps Inform City Planting Plans

A group of researchers is using mapping and satellite data to help cities quantify their tree canopy cover -- a move that is spurring efforts to increase tree planting in cities across the country.

February 22, 2008 - Associated Press

Deadly Environments?

Mark Ames, author of "Going Postal", wonders if American gun tragedies like last week's massacre at Northern Illinois University might be at least partially explained by the bleak physical built environments of middle America.

February 20, 2008 - AlterNet

Statues and Limitations

Public art in the United Kingdom is coming under increasing scrutiny as artists and the public grapple with the question of who should be memorialized in statue form: significant historical figures or ordinary people?

February 20, 2008 - BBC

New Delta Could Protect Coast From Hurricane Damage

Scientists are proposing a plan to buffer the Gulf Coast from the brunt of hurricanes by engineering more than 1000 square kilometers of new wetlands along the coast.

February 19, 2008 - New Scientist

Attack of the Public Art 'Monsters'

Prominent museum heads in the United Kingdom are calling for greater discretion in the commissioning of public art pieces. They say the latest batch of sculptures are "monsters".

February 16, 2008 - The Times (London)

A Green Lens for Affordable Housing

This article looks at how landscape architects have combined green roofs, public spaces and affordable housing to address the chronic homelessness in San Francisco's infamous Tenderloin district.

February 7, 2008 - Landscape Architecture

This Park Attraction Brought To You By...

New York City parks officials have announced plans to generate extra revenue by selling off naming rights for some of the city's public park attractions.

January 25, 2008 - New York Post

Lawn Greens

If 'peak oil' makes oil-intensive industrial agriculture economically unfeasible, will suburbanites need to turn their lawns into farming plots?

January 25, 2008 - Common Dreams

A Test for Walkability

The city of Pasadena, California has enlisted a groups of more than 100 volunteers to walks and evaluate its streets to rate the city's walkability.

January 22, 2008 - Pasadena Star-News

Texas Town Forced To Forfeit Land For Border Wall

More than 200 acres of public land in Texas were transferred to the Department of Homeland security on the order of a federal judge. The department sought the land as part of its plan to build hundreds of miles of fences along the U.S.-Mexico border.

January 21, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

Reserach Shows Misconceptions About Trees and Street Safety

Engineers have cited safety concerns in advising against tree planting along streets, but recent research shows that the rare tree-lined street may be less dangerous than the much more common street lined with parked cars.

January 11, 2008 - Access

Using New York's Bike Boxes

This video from Streetfilms looks at the bike boxes painted on New York's streets and explain how to use them.

January 11, 2008 - Streetsblog

Is Montreal Still a 'City of Design'?

Montreal may have been a "city of design" when it hosted 1967's World Fair and UNESCo says it still is. But one prominent Canadian architect is skeptical.

January 10, 2008 - Dwell

Beltline Needs A Guiding Vision

Plans are moving forward for Atlanta's broad Beltline project, including parkspace, mixed use development and transit. But this piece from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution argues that a grand vision is needed to harness the momentum.

January 9, 2008 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Urban Parks Rebound

High-profile urban parks in Denver and Irvine, California, hint at a resurgence in the creation of outdoor spaces in America's urban areas.

January 9, 2008 - The Economist

L.A.'s Public Squares Leave Much To Be Desired

This piece from the Los Angeles Times Magazine looks at the recent trend of including public squares in high-profile L.A. projects, and examines why they don't really work in the traditional sense.

January 8, 2008 - Los Angeles Times Magazine

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.