Links to Resources
World Wide Web

Links to Urban Planning

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Carfree Cities - the web site that goes with the book. Carfree Cities proposes a delightful solution to the vexing problem of urban automobiles.

Intbau international network for traditional building arts and urbanism.

ITDP Institute for Transportation & Development Policy

Christopher Alexander's site on A Pattern Language. Alexander at his usual brilliant self.

The Living Room , edited by Richard Risemberg, is a place to examine the history, the technology, and the sensations of social living, the state of community today, and the practices that can make life both richer and more practical for all of us, today, tomorrow, and beyond. Includes The Bike People, the Suburbia Project, and a Sustainability section. All highly recommended.

Tectics Studying and applying the world's best time-tested ideas in building.

The New Colonist explores environmental and lifestyle issues for dedicated city lovers, urban activists, and refugees from sprawl development. Includes feature articles, essays, interactive surveys, and city guides, written with an emphasis on community life and sustainability.

World Carfree Network , the hub of the global carfree movement.

The Center for Urban Transportation Research at the Florida Center for Community Design and Research has a variety of useful links on transportation, land use, and sustainability issues.

The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment is an educational charity established by The Prince of Wales to teach and demonstrate in practice those principles of traditional urban design and architecture which put people and the communities of which they are part at the centre of the design process.

James Howard Kunstler has a site about his writing and speaking, mainly on the New Urbanism.

UrbEd (Urban and Economic Development Group) is a leading independent research and consultancy firm specialising in the fields of urban regeneration, local economic development, sustainability and urban design.

International Making Cities Livable seeks to strengthen community by creating viable public places for social life in our cities will reduce anonymity, and increase grassroots democracy by returning to compact, mixed use cities based on walking, cycling, and public transport.

Detour Publications is a non-profit, on-line bookstore offering many titles on sustainable passenger and freight transport, urban planning, "smart growth," and climate change.

The SUSTRAN Network : Taking steps: a community action guide to people-centred, equitable and sustainable urban transport. Read the group's archives at eGroups.

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is a leading resource for key issues concerning the use, regulation, and taxation of land.

Alternatives Journal offers environmental thought, policy, and action embracing current events and timeless issues.

Katarxis On Contemporary Traditional Architecture and Urbanism, a new webzine dedicated exclusively to classical and traditional architecture and urbanism.

Cyburbia: The Planning and Architecture Internet Resource Center contains a comprehensive directory of Internet resources relevant to planning, architecture, urbanism and other topics related to the built environment. Cyburbia also contains information about architecture and planning related mailing lists and Usenet newsgroups, and hosts several interactive message areas.

The Coalition for Alternative Transportation works to improve mobility.

A to B Magazine is dedicated to demonstrating alternatives to the car - primarily electric bicycles, public transport-friendly folding bikes and bike carraige by rail, bus and air.

Traffic Reduction Street reclaiming made easy

Colin Buchanan: The Lesson Of Venice by Edoardo Salzano

Carfree UK imagine living in a carfree community

Car-Free Development by Lloyd Wright, from GTZ

EcoPlan International is an independent consulting and advisory group working with business and governments on projects, plans, and problems which are marked by rapid technological or environmental change. Founded in 1967, the work of the group is interdisciplinary and international. Assignments are more oriented to decision support than research per se. Also includes The Commons, a collaborative international undertaking created in 1994 by Eric Britton and his colleagues at EcoPlan.

Car-Free Living - car-free housing in Europe.

Jane Holtz Kay is the architecture and planning critic for The Nation and author of Asphalt Nation, Preserving New England and Lost Boston.

Neal Peirce's column on carfree cities

On Architecture and Urbanism in Katarxis 02/1

China's Carfree Town: Gulangyu in The New Colonist

The Real American Dream Is Not Sprawl in the New Colonist

The Form of Cities: an Introduction to Carfree Cities - an article by J.H. Crawford in The New Colonist

Top Ten Characteristics of a Healthy City in the New Colonist

Urban Data supports the circulation of technical and cultural scientific information; the publication of electronic data products; training, co-operation and exchanges between the members; the development of projects and actions through relationships with national, European, and international institutions.

Utopia 2.0 : simulate the future on a PC

"Car Crazy" A Word from Richard Risemberg, in the New Colonist, August 2002

Slow Cities : where the living is good, not fast.

This View of Density portrays different urban densities (Beta version)

The Institute of Classical Architecture offers a variety of programs that teach the fundamentals of architecture through the exploration and study of the classical tradition.

Shedding Light on Alienation in the Public Realm : The case for more humane lighting of city streets.

Car-Free Housing in European Cities A Survey of Sustainable Residential Development Projects, by Jan Scheurer

Active Living by Design on healtier ways of living

carfree living - autofrei wohnen carfree development in Germany

An article about Jane Jacobs, author of the classic "The Death and Life of Great American Cities".

A Vision of Europe Architecture and a human approach for the European city - how to develop new, acceptable models for urban living.

The Future Of Cities : The Absurdity of Modernism. The godfather of New Urbanism offers his perspective on the future of cities: The most beautiful cities which survive in the world today have all been conceived with buildings of between two and five floors - the era of the utilitarian skyscraper is at an end. (Krier & Salingaros)

RUDI - Resource for Urban Design Information.

Le Piazze d'Italia glorious Italian Piazzas, some despoiled by cars, but all worth looking at

Congress for the New Urbanism  

Bright Angel Frontier is proposing a radical restructuring of large areas of the US West that would create carfree towns by re-creating a historic Nineteenth Century infrastructure based on horses and steam trains.

"Architecture, Patterns, and Mathematics" by Nikos A. Salingaros.

Terrain: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments is a quarterly online journal without definite boundaries, searching for that interface - the integration - among the built and natural environments, that might be called the soul of place.

The European Cyclists' Federation is the world's largest bicycle advocacy organisation with 33 sub-groups in 22 countries.

Village Forum focuses on how we design and build our habitat. The 20th Century car-based suburb not only failed to deliver on its promises, but has created huge social, cultural, economic and environmental problems.

SUN (Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods) is a program lead by Dr. John Gilderbloom to help revitalize inner city neighborhoods. SUN offers numerous web links related to sustainable development. The site includes a model web site of the type needed by every dead inner city neighborhood to spark the revitalization.

MassBike is the leading bicycle advocacy group in Massachussetts.

Radical Urban Theory an on-line journal

"Without a Car in the World" Jane Holtz Kay in the New Colonist

"Urban Ecology, Innovations in Housing Policy and the Future of Cities: Towards Sustainability in Neighbourhood Communities." Jan Scheurer's PhD Thesis.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center image library.

Bremen: Urban district planning without cars

"Why is Sprawl Such a Disaster?" John Holtzclaw in Terrain, Issue #4

How to Build a Village by Claude Lewenz

European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions . Sustainable development is the achievement of continued economic and social development without detriment to the environment and natural resources. The quality of future human activity and development is increasingly seen as being dependent on maintaining this balance.

External Costs Damages arising from electricity and transport (PDF!)

Costs of Sprawl report from the Sierra Club.

Highway and Sprawlbusters at the Sierra Club - a page about reining in cars and limiting sprawl.

Trees and Vegetation in the Architecture and Planning of High-Density City-Centers

B.E.S.T. helps solve pollution, climate change, traffic congestion, and urban sprawl problems.

Perils For Pedestrians A television series about problems confronting people who walk.

Light Rail Transit Association provides a host of useful information about Light Rail Vehicles (LRV)/trams/streetcars/trolleys or whatever people are calling them this week.

"Coming Around Again" - an article about the resurgence of streetcars (trams)

Principles of Urban Structure by Nios A. Salingaros. This on-line book addresses the needs of professional urbanists who wish to understand how and why cities are successful or not, depending on their form, components, and substructure.

A Theory of Architecture by Nikos A. Salingaros. An online book that combines some ideas on the basis for architectural design.

The International Lightrail Network provides information on light rail systems from a northern European perspective

Narrow Streets Database at the Congress for the New Urbanism.

Pedestrian Streets in New Colonist

Katarxis - New York Rebuilding Manhattan Without Skyscrapers

Our Neighborhood Russell Turpin in the New Colonist

Arcosanti: is an urban laboratory in Arizona and a prototype Arcology (architecture for ecology) founded by Paolo Soleri in 1970. Workshoppers and apprentices learn by doing, while constructing Arcosanti.

The Preservation Institute includes links to transportation and development politics on the Web. Listed are groups working to limit the automobile, stop urban sprawl, and build ecologically sound cities.

The Urban Renaissance Institute is dedicated to helping cities and their regions flourish by removing the many impediments to their proper functioning.

Surface Transportation Policy Project ("Transact") works to promote a "diversified transportation system." They also publish the Mean Streets report annually.

Barbican Living describes the post-war Barbican project in London, in which cars are kept below ground. 8000 people live there today.

Digital Imaging Project Index of Art Historical Sites

Living Streets covers all aspects of pedestrian welfare

"Skeletons in the closet of the Suburban Frontier" Kris Price in Terrain, Issue #4

Bicycle Transportation Alliance promotes bicycling for safer streets, cleaner air, and energy independence.

Traffic Calming Program at the city of Portland, Oregon. Thorough discussion of the hows and whys of traffic calming.

The Social Ideology of the Motorcar by André Gortz (1973!).

Transportation and City Design Land use and housing politics in San Francisco. History and politics of rail transit in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Environmental Building News is a leading international publication on environmentally sustainable design and construction. The site includes news, feature articles, and many green building product reviews.

A Tour of Illichville  

Citizens for Better Transit (Edmonton)is dedicated to public education and advocacy about the social, environmental and economic benefits possible from investments in public transportation.

PEZEE The movement for the protection of pedestrian rights in Athens

Planning Commissioners Journal is a resource for planning in the North American context. They also publish a useful journal.

America WALKs is a non-profit national coalition of local advocacy groups dedicated to promoting walkable communities. Our mission is to foster the development of community-based pedestrian advocacy groups and to educate the public about the benefits of walking.

Mont Royal Avenue Verte is promoting a major carfree street in Montreal, Quebec

Freesources from World Carfree Network

Big and Blue in the USA by James Howard Kunstler in the New Colonist

San Francisco Bicycle Coalition promotes the bike for everyday transportation.

WBB Trust works for a better Bangladesh

Urban Winds is a site to discuss urban issues and urban design

Platform Binnenstad Autovrij is working to make the center of Amsterdam a car-free paradise. Although the residents of the inner city have supported this move, the city government has done little to implement the necessary changes, despite its adoption of policies to significantly reduce automobile traffic. English-language summaries are available.

What Are They Afraid Of? In Smart Growth's Widening Wake, A Stream of Venom, by Keith Schneider in the New Colonist

The Seaside Institute is the cultural center of the town of Seaside, Florida, and supports improved community planning

Walkable Communities, Inc. is a non-profit corporation organized to help communities of whatever size to become more walkable and pedestrian friendly.

Sustainable Urban Transport Project aims to help cities meet this challenge and achieve their sustainable transport goals, through the dissemination of information about international experience and targeted work with particular cities.

The Atlantic Monthly September 1996 article on Celebration (the new Disney community in Orlando, Florida) is an interesting and worthwhile review of some of the fruits of the New Urbanism.

International Bike Fund promotes sustainable transport and international understanding

Cars, Culture, Concrete, and Convenience at the Living Room

Amsterdam Heritage introduces historic Amsterdam, focusing on the city's historic buildings and sites. Detailed information on the architecture and on the preservation of historic buildings is presented along the way.

Sprawl Kills is an indictment of US sprawl development.

Charrettes For New Urbanism In Florida and elsewhere around the country, a remarkable number of charrettes have been used to launch New Urbanist projects.

Center for Green Space Design providing training and assistance for those planning green space.

Walk21 exists to champion the development of healthy sustainable and efficient communities where people choose to walk

Wire Wheels, Wired World at the Living Room

he New Mobility Agenda from Ecoplan

Secret Gardens How to turn patchwork urban backyards into neighborly communal parks.

The Waterfront Center contends that waterfronts are unique. The vital characteristic that separates waterfronts from other areas in a community is the relationship to water.

Cutting Your Car Use , the web site for Anna Semlyen's new book by the same name.

Bogotá designs transportation for people, not cars and is becoming a world leader in improving quality of life at low cost.

Terrorism, Transit and Public Safety from VTPI

The Project for Public Spaces is a nonprofit technical assistance, research and educational organization with a mission to create and sustain public places that build communities.

Auto Free New York works to improve transit, cut car use, and remake streets for people.

Measuring the Success of Transit-Oriented Development : Retail Market Dynamics and Other Key Determinants. Discussion of TOD and transit effects; possibly biased.

Reclaiming city streets for people: Chaos or quality of life? EU

Comprehensive Evaluation of Rail Transit Benefits from VTPI

Twentieth Century Architecture as a Cult essay by Nikos A. Salingaros

SUVs Should Be Driven Into a Truck Lane Big guys on the right, little guys on the left. It has a nice ring, doesn't it? (LA Times article)

Ulrich Nehls - Musik, Autos, Verkehr und Öl

National Charrette Institute is a nonprofit educational institution that helps communities achieve healthy transformation using the charrette process.

On the Road to Sustainability Transport and Carfree Living in Freiburg (PDF)

TramTrain: The 2nd Generation: New Criteria for the "Ideal TramTrain City"

Eddyburg is the site of Edoardo Salzano, former mayor of Venice. In Italian, with many links.

Brasilias from the Parallel Universes presents other plans that were proposed for Brazil's capital.

Auto-Free Ottawa is trying to tame the urban automobile in Ottawa, Ontario (the capital of Canada).

Guidelines for Municipalities in the Design of Quality Urban Places invites people to submit images of urban places that they really enjoy. The catalogue is still small, but over time it may grow.

Village At - resurrecting classical land use patterns. Tour carfree Italian towns.

Planetizen is a portal for California planners.

Transformation of Venice into a museum-city is a UNESCO study of some of the perils and pitfalls facing Venice.

Michigan Land Use Institute published an article on government support for sprawl, which was by no means the inevitable consequence of rising personal incomes.

EcoIQ offers resources for planning the built environment, natural resource conservation and protection, and building sustainable communities.

Chris Bradshaw has published some very interesting material on the scale of cities, the role of low-impact transport, and the social effects of urban planning.

Metro Bits some aspects of the world's subway systems

Project for Public Spaces Launching a New Tradition of Great Public Squares

City Comforts Notebook: urban planning & design, real estate development, architecture, construction, urban history, landscape architecture, affordable housing, interior design, etc.

Imagita provides a list of links to European Union and EU-funded public transport research projects with particular emphasis on Scandinavian public transport links.

Moving the Economy promotes sustainable transport and inventories 150 case studies in which sustainable transport yielded measured economic benefits.

Velo Mondial is a global bike site that includes the Amsterdam Declaration on the rights of cyclists.

Travel on ELTIS (the European Local Transport Information Service).

Urban Ecology Australia is a non profit community group which advocates the building of ecological cities.

Central London Partnership is a public and private sector partnership which takes action to make central London a better place to live, work, invest, and visit.

Cloverleaf city: it would be better for all of us if there were fewer cars on the road

Masshouse Changes - Travelling into the City Centre From 10 March 2002

Auto-Free Orange County is an Orange County, California volunteer organization helping people develop less car-dependent lifestyles and more pedestrian-friendly communities.

Car-Free France (portal site)

The Thunderhead Alliance is a coalition of state and local bicycle advocacy groups.

International City Planners Network connects planning professionals from around the world: architects, city and town planners, community development and environmental planning professionals, landscape architects, open space planners, resource managers, transportation planners, and urban designers.

Self-Propelled City is working on a self-propelled future for urban environments.

Urban, Regional and Environmental Planning Related Resources The site contains links to a number of academic institutions, planners' associations, publications, etc.

Sustainable Long Island is an organization whose mission is to promote economic development, social equity and a healthy environment for all Long Islanders, now and in the generations to come.

The Comparative Urban Studies Project of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars brings together scholars and policymakers from around the globe to discuss problems of urban management from a multidisciplinary, multiregional perspective. CUSP organizes meetings and disseminates the findings through policy briefs, occasional papers, books, and other publications, as well as through the Center's Dialogue radio program.

The Greenway is working to provide a safe, clean, aesthetic, and enjoyable place for people of all ages to ride a bicycle all year round.

Hände Weg von der Lobau! is fighting against a highway through a national park in Austria.

Geography at About.com - a geography mega-site with weekly articles, quizzes and an e-mail newsletter, annotated links to hundreds of sites, a chat room, and online forum devoted to geography.

The Encyclopedia of Sustainable Development has been written by the Atmosphere, Climate & Environment Information Progam.

Slow Is Beautiful: Speed Limits as Decisions on Urban Form

Parry People Movers supplies light tramway systems for smaller towns, and light rail vehicles for use on regional railways. They have developed an off-wire tram technology.

The Urban Environmental Management Research Initiative (UEMRI) website is published by a group of urban planning researchers from around the world. It looks at urban areas as the intersection of natural, built, and socio-economic environments, and relates this to the global environment.

Public Spaces How They Humanize Cities [PDF]

Wohnen ohne Auto (Living without cars) carries information on the carfree project in Munich. Also a reviews other German Carfree Projects and has tips for planning and realizing carfree living in Germany. (German only)

The Tri-State Transportation Campaign is an alliance of public interest, transit advocacy, planning and environmental organizations working to reform transportation policies in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut metropolitan region.

Bicycle City An eco-friendly place to live, work, and play

EEVL is the UK Gateway to quality reviewed engineering resources on the Internet.

Kevin Karplus maintains a large list of useful transportation, bicycle, and urban planning links.

Cities of the Future takes a glimpse at cities 100 years into the future.

Singapore Urban Redevelopment Agency offers information of local interest

Martin van den Berg is also interested in the design of cities.

The Priorities Institute discusses sustainability, carfree cities, and related topics.

Walk + Roll Cleveland encourages people to walk and bicycle in their daily lives.

GWL Terrein in Amsterdam, a 600-unit carfree project (in Dutch only)

BikeAthens (Georgia) is dedicated to promoting sustainable transportation solutions for the Classic City.

I Walk in My Street A Guide to Planning Successful Pedestrian Streets in New York City (PDF)

World Bank Group Urban Transport Strategy Review. "Urban sprawl is likely to increase to the detriment of public transport, reducing accessibility and services for the poor. The World Bank's Urban Transport Strategy Review will prepare for this challenge."

TrafficLinq traffic and transportation start page.

Green and smart is the idea that public transport and walking are viable and sustainable modes of transport, and the lack of information is a significant impediment.

World Carshare Consortium was set up under The Commons in early 1998 as a free, cooperative international information sharing and communications program in support of carsharing projects worldwide.

The Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments is a forum for planning, discussion and study of regional problems of mutual interest and concern to the counties and cities in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties.

EcoTopia USA is dedicated to a sustainable future.

Urban Reinventors  

Removing Freeways - Restoring Cities from the Preservation Institute

Win-Win Transportation Solutions Cooperation for Economic, Social and Environmental Benefits from VTPI

Win-Win Emission Reduction Strategies Smart Transportation Strategies Can Achieve Emission Reduction Targets And Provide Other Important Economic, Social and Environmental Benefits from VTPI

Urban Squares is devoted to the study of city squares

Pretty Good City evolving thoughts on sustainable urbanism

Urban Squares urban squares from around the world

Be Birmingham is the Local Strategic Partnership for Birmingham

New Means to PROMote Pedestrian Traffic in Cities from the EU [PDF!]

Web Urban Design is a resource network of worldwide websites focusing on urban design. WUD aims to provide a direct and easy access to key websites.

New Urban Home The New Urban Home is a sustainable, fleible, and creative solution to individualized contemporary living.

The Sustainable Video Project Another world is possible: it’s already here!

Halt the Ramp Caltrans is beginning construction of a new elevated freeway and ramp in San Francisco.

City of Oakland (CA) pedestrian master plan

Winter Cities proposes ways to ease the winter in northern cities.

Human Hub is Europe's portal for sustainable mobility and smart growth.

The Participatory City Innovations in the European Union (including a brief history of the carfree movement)

The Planning Report The insider's guide to managed growth

College Town Issues Issues related to student and year-round residents living and working together in college towns across the USA, especially in older, walkable neighborhoods.

Greek site about a park in Athens (link is to an English translation)

Architects for Peace Urban professionals including planners, architects, designers and environmentalists against war. Information on peace actions, urban development, links to city and peace articles and relevant websites

Active Living Leadership supports government leaders as they create and promote policies, programs and places that enable active living to improve the health, well-being and vitality of communities.

Bicyclepedia  

oGE - O Grande Estuário is a colaborative art and social project on post-carbon urban and art prospects. (Portuguese)

Holigent.org Synergistic Transformation Institute

North Carolina Coalition for Bicycle Driving Bicyclists are drivers of vehicles. Every street is a bicycle facility.

Ecological Transport (Russia)

Transportation for a Livable City works to create more livable neighborhoods, where walking, bicycling, and transit are the best choices for most trips, and where housing is more plentiful and more affordable.

Levego is Hungary's Clean Air Action Group

Erasmuspc.com is an international network focused on the influence of culture on the physical environment

NewUrbanism.org Bookstore, Newstand, Movies, Links, Etc.

GTZ transport site

Map21 Ltd provides greenspace planning, research and community initiatives. Offers information for students and professionals plus COST C11 EU research project on Urban Greenspace.

Suggest additions to this list of sources.


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