From CityLab — Why Reston, Virginia Still Inspires Planners 50 Years Later

Official Trailer: Another Way of Living: The Story of Reston, VA from Rebekah Wingert-Jabi on Vimeo. 

It’s rare for a 1960s suburban development to exert a cultural pull distinct from its neighboring city, but Reston pulled it off. 

Situated about 20 miles from Washington, D.C., in what used to be northern Virginia farmland, this settlement has attracted generations of urbanists for its people-first brand of development. When Robert E. Simon Jr. bought the land and planned his flagship project, he insisted on walkability, density, access to nature and green space, and diversity of races and income levels. He didn’t invent these principles—his inspirations were hundreds of years old—but he and his successors managed to realize them at a scale and level of success that hadn’t been seen before. Read more: Why Reston, Virginia, Still Inspires Planners 50 Years Later - CityLab

Jaime Lerner in The New York Times — How to Build a Sustainable City

Global warming, drought, migration and population growth have put our cities under heavy strain. What does the future hold for them — and all of us — in this scenario?

Cities have a very significant impact on climate change: It’s estimated that urban areas are responsible for 75 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Before the climate conference in Paris in December, developed and developing nations alike pledged to curb greenhouse-gas emissions in an effort to reach worldwide consensus. But does this consensus absorb the world’s many different realities, cultures and levels of economic development? And is looking at the issue on a country scale the best one to take effective action? Read more: How to Build a Sustainable City - The New York Times

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From Project for Public Spaces — Havana: Learning from and Building on a People-Centered City

With improving diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US, the country’s public space, and public life, is poised to evolve in new directions, for better and worse. In 2006, Ethan Kent of Project for Public Spaces had the opportunity to witness the unique urban environment of Havana firsthand - and collected some thoughts on what it has to teach the rest of the world, and what should be preserved, and built upon, in the face of change. More than anything though, the city offers an interesting contrast to many of the misdirected development patterns of American modernization. Photo essay at: HAVANA'S PUBLIC SPACES by Project for Public Spacespr

From Planetizen — The Power of Jane Jacobs' "Web Way of Thinking"

On the 50th anniversary of the publication of Jane Jacobs' The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Michael Mehaffy refuted the contrarians and clarified Jacobs' lasting "Top 10" observations found in the incredibly influential book. 

MICHAEL MEHAFFY Planetizen Dec. 15, 2011 Just now we are nearing the end of the 50th anniversary of Jane Jacobs' hugely influential book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. The year has seen a remarkable series of re-assessments and, in some cases, revisionisms. Planner Thomas Campanella has criticized Jacobs' "evisceration" of planning,which created a vacuum into which privatizing interests rushed; economist Ed Glaeser has argued that Jacobs fed gentrification with her call for preservation of some old buildings instead of all new towers; and sociologist Sharon Zukin attacked Jacobs' alleged fantasy of the "social-less" urban block. Most recently, my friend Anthony Flint suggested that Jacobs was a libertarian with a mixed legacy of NIMBYism.

What I find remarkable about these accounts – speaking as an instructor who regularly uses her texts - is that in almost all cases these were things that Jacobs herself simply never said. Read more: The Power of Jane Jacobs' "Web Way of Thinking" | Planetizen: The Urban Planning, Design, and Development Network

From Better! Cities and Towns — Form-based codes: What's the deal?

Form-based codes: What's the deal? The community gets walkable neighborhoods with affordable housing—developers get a streamlined approval process.

Posted by Better! Cities & Towns on Wednesday, June 17, 2015

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#Walkability — planning from the sky vs. designing on the ground

A great case for #Walkability in this video by @gracenjohnson http://t.co/YdcnHDvOU5 #pedshed

— NewUrbanismFilmFest (@NwUrbanFilmFest) April 16, 2015

From @guardiancities — Are we seeing the erosion of public space and access in our cities?

Post by Nanaimo Commons.

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An anti-car General Electric ad from the 40s....

An anti-car General Electric ad from the 40s.... pic.twitter.com/MfIvK5y74E

— Charles Mudede (@mudede) January 6, 2015

#Nanaimo waterfront park lease referendum upcoming — I share some thoughts with Mayor + Council

Post by The Sidewalk Ballet.

.@NanaimoCommons @1sidewalkballet @DarrellBellaart Time to scale back such a grandiose project. Build a hotel that fits the scale of Nanaimo

— Andrew Jones (@andrewtrevjones) February 14, 2015

From @TheCurrentCBC — How to design cities for an aging population‬ @Penalosa_G @KGreenbergTO

Post by The Sidewalk Ballet.

From @GOVERNING — What, exactly, is gentrification?

What, exactly, is gentrification? An introduction to our special series on the issue. http://t.co/BvpJteq7ZP pic.twitter.com/PtzzbXINkg

— GOVERNING (@GOVERNING) February 8, 2015

BC Sustainable Energy Association — BCSEA Kamloops presents Gil Peñalosa Feb 3

Urban design might not be the first thing you think of when it comes to the BCSEA. Why bring in an urban advisor rather than an energy expert? According to Cheryl Kabloona, Chair of the local Chapter, it’s because urban design dictates lifestyle, and lifestyle has a huge impact on people’s energy footprint. “For example, if you have a city where people can enjoy a nice walk to work instead of an aggravating commute, you’re improving health, you’re saving money, you’re building a friendlier, happier community, and you’re using a lot less energy,” says Kabloona. “There are so many ways that the physical infrastructure around us influences our energy choices.” Read more: BCSEA Kamloops presents Gil Peñalosa | BC Sustainable Energy Association

60% of families would choose a smaller home if it was in a walkable transit-friendly neighbourhood

60% of families would choose a smaller home if it was in #walkable, transit-friendly neighbourhood pic.twitter.com/M4eW3HvFlv v/@BrentToderian

— Canadian Urbanism (@CanUrbanism) January 18, 2015

From Brain Pickings — A Love Letter to Jane Jacobs, Tucked Inside a Graphic Biography of Robert Moses

...make no mistake — Moses was no holy hero. The deep flaws of his power-hungry character and the dehumanizing ruthlessness of his industrial vision reveal themselves gradually and crescendo midway through the book as his counterpoint emerges: Jane Jacobs, legendary patron saint of urbanism and the human-centered city, enters the scene, via the beloved bicycle on which she was known to roam the city. 

Read more: How New York Became New York: A Love Letter to Jane Jacobs, Tucked Inside a Graphic Biography of Robert Moses | Brain Pickings

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From The Vancouver Sun — Vancouver swaps parking requirement for car shares

At the proposed new mixed-use Oakridge Centre there will be up to 75 car share vehicles, purchased by the developer for the Modo car share cooperative, for use by the public. In exchange for this, for every car-share vehicle, the City of Vancouver will allow the developer to build up to five fewer underground parking spaces. Welcome to the new world of collaborative partnerships between developers, the city, and car share companies, unique in Canada and spreading to other municipalities in the region. Read more: Vancouver swaps parking requirement for car shares

From Price Tags — Arthur Erickson on False Creek development – 1983

Fascinating Jack Webster interview with Arthur Erickson in 1983, discussing the development of B.C. Place (when it was a proposed megaproject to be developed by the Province) for which he was the consulting architect. Renderings start at 9.45. (A very-80s Dave Podmore, head of planning for B.C. Place, shows up – that’s him pictured.) Full post at: Arthur Erickson on False Creek development – 1983 | Price Tags

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The (amazing) density of Barcelona Eixample @cnunextgen

Post by CNU NextGen: The Next Generation of New Urbanists.

Americans Don't Walk Much And I Don't Blame Them — @Kaid_in_DC in @HuffPostGreen

This won’t be breaking news to most readers, but Americans don’t walk very much. Periodically, National Geographic publishes a 17-nation “Greendex” study on, among many other things, transit use and walking. In 2012 Americans came in dead last on both indices, and it wasn’t close.  

Read more: Americans Don't Walk Much, and I Don't Blame Them | F. Kaid Benfield

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New Masters of Community Planning Program at @VIUniversity approved by the province!

New Masters of Community Planning Program at @VIUniversity approved by the province! The first cohort is planned for September 2015. Pls RT

— NanaimoCommons (@NanaimoCommons) September 26, 2014

From lewisnvillegas — The City in TED talks

A collection of 20 minute chats or Ted Talks by a wide cross-section of prominent contemporary figures. See them alll at: The City in TED talks | lewisnvillegas

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