http://www2.pps.org/news/ Headlines about planning and placemaking, updated daily. OpenACS 5.0 Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:44:41 GMT http://www2.pps.org/rss-support/images/openacs_logo_rss.gif http://www2.pps.org/news/ 126 48 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=99082 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=99082                                                   Photo Source: NYC DOT       The NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) launched a program recently that will transform underused New York City streets into lively and social public plazas. The program calls for non-profit organizations t... Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:44:41 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=99076 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=99076        Photo: Design by Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Courtesy of the City of New York.   Final designs for New York's High Line park were released on Wednesday. The park, which will run from Gansevoort Street to 34th street along the Hudson River on 1.45 miles of elevated rail tracks, is comprised of three phases. The first, which runs from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street is scheduled to be finished by the end of this y... Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:32:22 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=98960 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=98960 Following the lead of innovative cities such as Bogota, El Paso, Ottowa, Guadalajara and Paris, New York City is shifting its focus from cars to people on its streets.  Through its Summer Streets program, the city will close down a 6.9-mile stretch of road to cars on three consecutive Saturdays between the Brooklyn Bridge and East 72nd Street, creating an opportunity for safe cycling, walking and exploring. The program is modeled off of Ciclovia, a similar initiative in Bogota, Colombi... Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:21:07 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=98186 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=98186 In the June 2008 article, "Revolution in the Stacks," Governing magazine discusses the creative methods being embraced by libraries around the country in order to retain users and woo a younger generation.  Innovations include computer rooms that allow users to make and record music, play video games, and use digital photography and video equipment.  Some libraries have even eliminated the Dewey Decimal System, organizing books by category like they would be in a book store. Mov... Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:30:10 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=97355 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=97355 Photo Courtesy of China Daily (April, 2006) East-1 Zhongshan Road in Shanghai's landmark Bund area is about to get a serious road diet. Decades ago, it was a tree-lined boulevard that served as a gateway to the region's financial and global trade core. Today, it looks more like a moat full of vehicle traffic that separates the waterfront from the majestic buildings facing the harbor and the vibrant city life further inland. Ten lanes of traffic will be reduced down t... Fri, 30 May 2008 07:45:43 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=95793 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=95793 Photo Source: Monica Almeida/The New York Times The New York Times reports on new colorful outdoor benches being used in several Los Angeles neighborhoods to improve the street environment. These neighborhoods, comprised of low-income immigrant residents, have lacked basic street amenities for too long, especially at bus stops. Central City Neighborhood Partners, a non-profit operating in the Central City and Westlake areas of LA, organized use... Thu, 08 May 2008 10:58:31 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93784 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93784 Photo: Woonerf in Copenhagen, Denmark The New York Times reports on ten progressive street designs that are challenging the traditional "street-curb-sidewalk motif," which has defined so many streets in NYC and around the world by giving priority to automobiles. The ten designs are: Woonerfs Play Streets  Bicycle Boulevards   Pavement Hierarchy  Green Grid  Mental Speed Bumps Swaled S... Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:43:12 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93523 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93523   Montreal is a city with an interesting mix of old colonial squares and new corporate plazas. A new approach to creating vibrant public places seems to be brewing. The focus is on simple and flexible designs that facilitate human activity rather than merely display great architectural achievements. Gavin Affleck, a partner in the Montreal-based firm Affleck + de la Riva Architects and contributing editor for the monthly magazine Canadian Architect, writes: ... Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:30:53 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93499 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93499 Despite the large number of Americans now living in cities, urban issues have been astonishingly absent from the U.S. presidential debates. PPS did a spoof article for Faking Places, the annual April Fool's Newsletter, in which Hillary, McCain and Obama make promises for more livable neighborhoods. The glaring omission of urban issues from the national discourse is actually no laughing matter. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: "There are three times as many urbanites... Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:15:32 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93425 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93425   The ambitious bicycle sharing program in Paris is a model for smart transportation policy. It is revolutionizing the city's street culture while also tackling rising energy costs and global climate change. Renting stations are quickly becoming places to meet friends and strangers. Jay Walljasper, PPS  Senior Fellow and blogger for National Geographic's The Ecopolitan, writes: "Borrowing a bright idea from Lyon, France, the city is developing what amount... Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:32:34 GMT