links and other resources

Useful resources on cities, sustainable planning, transportation, and development.

Sustainable planning, transportation and development

• Project for Public Spaces: www.pps.org - PPS is a nationally and internationally recognized urban design organization, especializing in planning and designing memorable places and spaces in urban areas.
• Also from PPS:
  Great streets - transportation and livable communities
  Great Public Spaces
  Better buildings, better places
• The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy: www.itdp.org
• The Citizen Planner
• The Pedestrian and Bicyle Information Center at www.bicyclinginfo.org
• Living Streets: www.livingstreets.org.uk - Organization focused on creating safe, vibrant and healthy streets for all.
• World Carfree Network: www.worldcarfree.net - Clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalize towns and cities to create a sustainable future; offers resources for architects, planners, teachers/professors, students, decision-makers and engaged citizens.
• The New Rules Project - a comprehensive resource for policymakers, organizations and activists looking for innovative public policies enacted around the world: www.newrules.org
• The Congress for the New Urbanism: www.cnu.org

Books

• The Death and Life of Great American Cities - by Jane Jacobs, Random House - first published in 1961, this book helped inform the movement that would eventually end the destructive practices of highway building and "urban renewal" in cities throughout the U.S.
• Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream - by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck, North Point Press - a kind of sequel to Jane Jacobs's book, tackling some of the specific causes behind the continuing decline of our urban environment, from the role traffic projections and state standards play to the ways in which things can be improved.
• Crabgrass Frontier: the Suburbanization of the United States - by Kenneth T. Jackson, Oxford University Press - detailed history of housing and transportation policy in the U.S., includes in-depth examination of redlining and other discriminatory FHA and mortgage-industry policies.
• The Old Neighborhood - Ray Suarez, Simon & Schuster - examines the story of the changes affecting neighborhoods in the central cities.

Planning organizations and consultants

• www.designcenter.umn.edu - The University of Minnesota's Metropolitan Design Center is actively involved in urban design projects in the Twin Cities area.
• www.smartgrowth.org - The Smart Growth Network addresses numerous aspects of smart growth, including economics, transportation, environment, financing, and implementation.
• www.metrocouncil.org - Website for the Twin Cities' Metropolitan Council.
• www.calthorpe.com - One of the principal New Urbanist and transit-oriented development (TOD) planning firms.
• www.dpz.com - The firm founded by Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zybek, who along with Peter Calthorpe have studied the role of design in revitalization of central city areas.