There’s a reason I told Planning magazine I’m excited about “more accessible and interactive approaches to the massive amounts of GIS data that planners have.” After all, it’s a type of data that has not yet been adapted to truly seamless social platform. I sketched out how such a system could be applied to vacant […]
Urban Planning With Digital Tools
This month’s Planning magazine features a story about the uses of technology for urban planning that features quotes from me. (Planning is the monthly member magazine of American Planning Association.) The article describes the blogs, video and photo sharing, survey, and other online now available to activists and government planners alike. While a good overview, […]
Web 2.0 for Urban Development
I’ve written before about potential applications of Web 2.0 to the field of urban development. On Planetizen, I described some of the ways the new tools could be used to inform and engage the public in urban planning issues. On this blog last August, I described how a well-designed interactive website could help the city […]
Rethink College Park Among Top Planning Websites in 2008
The blog I co-founded about urban development issues in and around College Park, Maryland, Rethink College Park, has been named one of the web’s Top 10 Urban Planning, Design, and Development websites by the planning portal Planetizen. The award recognizes the hard work and support of all the site’s contributors and others who have provided […]
Top Urban Planning and Development Websites
Planetizen has asked me for nominations for their annual list of the web’s top planning and development websites. Winners in 2007 included architecture blog BldgBlog, Arlington County’s Commuter Page, and the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy’s Visualizing Density tool. The criteria simply request sites that are a service to the planning community. What sites should […]
Building a Community with Bits and Backhoes
As you read this, heavy construction crews are hard at work grading roads, laying infrastructure, and preparing to build homes and offices in Austin, Texas’s newest neighborhood. Located on the former site of the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport (which closed in 1999), the 711 acre Mueller redevelopment project will be larger in size than either […]
What’s Needed: Community Vacant Property Database
Like many U.S. cities, vacant properties are a stubborn problem that continues to plague the District. The city’s official list has over 2,000 properties listed, and it seems likely the actual number is much higher. An article in today’s Examiner describes how these properties can impact neighborhoods. Despite high demand for both housing and retail, […]