Illinois
High Profile Opposition to Chicago Transit Authority's Flyover Project
A Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic invokes the most influential planning battles in the country's history in critiquing the proposed Red-Purple Bypass Project sought by the Chicago Transit Authority and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Friday Eye Candy: Hang Out Above Chicago at the John Hancock's 'Tilt!' Installation
Call it a ride, an art installation, or a feat of engineering—Tilt! Is not for those with a fear of heights.
A Radical Proposal for North Lake Shore Drive in Chicago
A citizen-led initiative to rethink the land around North Lake Shore Boulevard in the neighborhood of Streeterville produced ambitious designs that would create additional shoreline, baldy-needed open space, and a tunnel for Lake Shore Drive.
U.S. Census: Bikes Most Increased Commute Mode Since 2000
Many U.S. cities are seeing an increase in bicycle commuters, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released last week. Of all commute modes, biking increased the most from 2000 to 2012. Walking, however, held steady.
Filtering Permeability With Traffic Diverters
Traffic diverters can be designed as a hybrid of permeable greenways and woonerfs to make walking and biking easier, safer, and even more pleasant than driving.
Why the Delay for Chicago's 35th Street Pedestrian Bridge?
Ten years ago, Chicago held a design competition for pedestrian bridges at five locations on the lakefront. As the projects have languished, so has improved access between neighborhoods like North Kenwood and Oakland to nearby Burnham Park.
U.S. Coal Exports to Europe Breaking Records
If President Obama is waging a "war on coal," as his critics claim, then Europe must be enjoying a love affair with America's high-carbon fossil fuel, and the most polluting variety at that. How could the world's greenest continent turn so brown?
The Fallacy of the Millennial Housing Shortage
A dissenting argument claims that the efforts of "affluent urban pioneers" to increase supply in the most desirable urban areas will do more harm than good.
Two Kinds of Migration Drive Urban Growth
A new post by Richard Florida distinguished between the two different types of migration—domestic and international—driving the influx of residents in urban centers around the country.
Chicago Planning Flyover Fix for North Side El Lines
Fairly sizable funding contingencies still have to be resolved, but the so-called Red-Purple Bypass Project could increase rush hour capacity at a critical North Side junction by 30 percent.
Friday Funny: Goats Love a High Rise
Part funny, part amusing, and part just plain cool, goat towers are vertical structures with winding ramps that goats love to climb. They are also are “an idea whose time has come” according to a recent article in Modern Farmer.
New Urbanism Gets a New Leader
Lynn Richards, formerly of the U.S. EPA's Office of Sustainable Communities, is set to become President of the Congress for the New Urbanism in July. In this interview, Richards says that forging new alliances will be a key goal for her.
Illinois Bike Transportation Plan Could Be a Game Changer
The Illinois Bike Transportation Plan has the potential to impact the design of state roads in the purview of the Illinois Department of Transportation: 2,775 miles, or nine percent of the total mileage, of road in the Chigagoland region.
Rethinking the Value of Parking Lots
To create more active and economically healthy downtowns, cities are seeking development on parking lots.
Questioning Chicago’s Development-Friendly Reputation
Chicago has a reputation for being the most development-friendly city this side of Houston. But Stephen J. Smith cites restrictive zoning outside the Loop as one cause of the city’s anemic housing market.
$1 Large Lot Sales Underway in Chicago
For sale in Chicago for $1: city-owned lots in Southside neighborhoods. The idea, which has been implemented in Chicago before, is to get more land in the hands of neighborhood residents and stakeholders.
Tracking Chicago’s Potholes
A new animated map presents the reported cases of potholes in Chicago since November—the maps colorful and provides insights into how the city, and our relationship to it, can change with time.
Legal Battle Over Transportation Network Companies Shifts to Chicago
Chicago political leaders are floating a pair of competing bills that would regulate transportation network companies like Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar. Cab companies are pushing for legislation, seeking a “level playing field” in the market.
Wheels Up for Chicago’s Navy Pier Flyover
Chicago recently began construction on the $60 million Navy Pier Flyover—an elevated bike and pedestrian path built along Lake Michigan near the Navy Pier.
Checking in on Chicago’s Riverwalk Extension Plans
The already brilliant city of Chicago is soon to get another big draw—the extension of a riverwalk promenade between State and Lake streets.
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
