Making City Planning Work

Politics & Social Sciences

Jacobs, Allan B.

Politics & Government

Amer Planning Assn

Rural and Small Town Planning

American Planning Association

This book is recommended reading for planners preparing to take the AICP exam. Conventional planning techniques just aren't working in many rural and suburbanizing areas. Developments where people merely exist have replaced neighborhoods where people once thrived. Strip malls and checkerboard subdivisions prevail. Randall Arendt argues convincingly that this scenario is not inevitable. In Rural by Design he advocates creative, practical land-use planning techniques to preserve open space and community character. He shows how developments all across America have used these techniques successfully. This book examines a broad spectrum of nitty-gritty design topics in a lively, readable style. Topics range from sewage disposal and farmland preservation to greenway planning for interconnected open space and the design of rural subdivision streets. The book includes numerous case examples of residential, commercial, and mixed-use projects that have used these innovative design techniques. And it takes an in-depth look at the design elements of the traditional town-and how to reinvent those elements in today's communities. Rural by Design appeals to a wide audience. Planners in small towns as well as rural and suburbanizing areas will find practical information to guide them on the job. Planning board members and interested laypeople will find a highly readable, nontechnical reference. And instructors in planning and allied fields will find a valuable textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses.

Rural by Design: Maintaining Small Town Character

Arendt, Randall

Brabec, Elizabeth A.

Environmental Law Foundation (Montpelier, Vt.)

Arendt, Randall G.

Social Sciences

Immerse yourself in creativity with this massive collection of SimCity games. Choose each individual structure from chicken coops to beauty salons to billboards as you create a truly unique city with SimCity Societies. Then add a thriving tourist industry with the SimCity Societies Destinations expansion pack. Strategically balance demand, construction, and your budget with SimCity 4 Deluxe (SimCity 4 and Rush Hour) to shape the development of your metropolis, small town, or industrial city. Then try your hand at SnapCity where you can play through the goals of 25 cities in Story Mode or indulge your city-building creativity in open-ended Sandbox mode. With so many ways to build the cities of your dreams, the sky is truly the limit!

Sim City: The City Simulator (IBM PC/XT/AT/PS2, COMPATIBLES SUPPORTS EGA, CGA, HERCULES MONO AND TANDY GRAPHICS, REQUIRES 512K)

Humor & Entertainment

W. Wright

Puzzles & Games

Do a web search for "sustainable development" and you get millions of hits. Everyone wants sustainability; green is the new black.The word is so overused it means everything and nothing. In 1987 the United Nations said sustainable development "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." But in recent years, greenwashing has made the term ubiquitous—and suspect.Assessing Sustainability tackles two of the biggest questions facing planners today: What is sustainable development, and how do we know when it's working? Does it benefit the environment? Build community equity? Boost the economy? This report strips away the rhetoric to show how local communities can benchmark sustainability and make it a measurable goal.

Assessing Sustainability: A Guide for Local Governments

Feiden, Wayne M.

Every year hundreds of local governments hire consultants for planning projects. But few officials go through the process often enough to feel confident in choosing consultants wisely, working with them effectively, and getting the best results. The author, an experienced planning consultant, knows firsthand the perils and pitfalls of the process. In five easy-to-follow chapters, he maps out a path from the decision to hire a consultant to the victory lap at its successful completion. He shares sources to find qualified consultants, five ways to structure the selection process, what to include in a Request for Proposal, and how to manage the project once the consultant is on board. His practical guide also covers the nitty-gritty of payment, legal and ethical issues, and dispute resolution. An appendix is packed with handy resources, including a sample consulting agreement, scope of services document, and evaluation form.

Working With Planning Consultants (Planning Advisory Service Reports)

Business & Money

Kelly, Eric Damian

Education & Reference

Signs do more than guide people; they help create safe and vibrant places. Street Graphics and the Law points the way to a better system of designing, displaying, and regulating signs. Completely updated, the fourth edition of this influential text has the latest on the evolution of digital signs and the last word on legal points every planner should know. Introductory chapters cover the elements of street graphics systems and five criteria for successful signs. Readers also will find best practices from the United States Sign Council and a new model street graphics ordinance, along with a primer for protecting sign regulations from attacks. Every community, from crossroads to major metro area, needs effective, aesthetic street graphics that tell people where to find what they want and send them safely on their way. This must-read report shows planners how to steer their street graphics programs in the right direction.

Street Graphics and the Law

This is the first all-hazards guidance manual for local planners developing plans for post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. It includes a model ordinance and case studies of five different hazard scenarios: flood, earthquake, tornado, wildfire, and hurricane. The report also offers planning tools for managing long-term community recovery after a natural disaster. Specific chapters provide guidance for identifying local natural hazards, assessing risk, and outlining the process of developing and implementing plans for post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. Appendices include a list of key federal contacts and a glossary of disaster terminology. This report was prepared under a cooperative agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction

Science & Math

Schwab, Jim

Earth Sciences

This practical guide to economic development will help local governments analyze their economies and incorporate economic goals into comprehensive plans. It explains the forces that shape local economies and shows officials and planners how they can influence those factors by encouraging the development of infrastructure and promoting regional cooperation in creating jobs. The report is supplemented by a glossary and an extensive bibliography, as well as an interactive worksheet that can be used to evaluate economic development planning. Part of a study for Envision Utah's Quality Growth Strategy.

An Economic Development Toolbox: Strategies and Methods

Moore, Terry

Meck, Stuart

Ebenhoh, James Dylan

Economics

Communities that integrate transportation and land-use policies are better able to manage growth, improve the efficiency of travel, and contain infrastructure costs. Highways have shaped America's growth—and will continue to do so—but highways have a big problem: congestion. Building more roads rarely solves this problem, at least, not for long, but changes in the way we approach transportation and land-use planning might. This report examines the need for public-sector investment in land-use and transportation development and the tools and techniques planners can use to integrate transportation and land use. It looks at the forces shaping cities and their transportation systems, frameworks for evaluating transportation and land-use policies, and the role of regional comprehensive plans. The book's unique format makes it easy to skim, gleaning the basics and finding the specific information you need. Appendices cover congestion pricing, microeconomic analysis, benefit-cost analysis, and more.

The Transportation/Land Use Connection 2007

Appleyard, Bruce

Thorsnes, Paul

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