jan07b.indd internet resources Smyth Lai Urban planning Starting points for students and scholars Urban planners are responsible for iden­tifying a community’s goals, and then working with public officials, civic leaders, and developers to achieve them. Their role in the community is a complex one, involving architecture, design, cartography, economic development, real estate, land use, housing, transportation planning, and the environ­ ment. As the percentage of the world’s popula­ tion living in cities increases, this role will become even more important, as planners will face the task of accommodating this growth in a way that is economically sound, socially just, and sustainable. The purpose of this compilation is to support the curriculum and research endeavors of undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a career in urban planning. This is a field that benefits from such extensive online presence, as it captures documents, maps, and other material pro­ duced by various government, educational, and nonprofit agencies but not widely dis­ seminated by commercial publishers. This guide is intended to be general in nature, and attempts to represent the interdisciplin­ ary nature of the urban planning fi eld. Also, focus is placed on U.S. planning trends and practices, though some international resources are included. Education and employment • Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP). ACSP offers credentials in urban and regional planning for planning programs in the United States, and maintains a site with job listings, conference informa­ tion, and links to planning schools. ACSP’s downloadable Guide to Graduate and Under­ graduate Education in Urban and Regional Planning offers more detailed information about each program, including accreditation status. Access: http://www.acsp.org/. • The Princeton Review Career Pro- files: City Planner. The site describes “A Day in the Life” of a city planner, quality of life, and earnings averages for city planners. A national internship and career search fea­ ture is also available. Access: http://www. princetonreview.com/cte/profi les/dayInLife. asp?careerID=162. • Urban Planning Now. The site claims to complement the jobs found on the Ameri­ can Planning Association site. Though a paid subscription is required to use the job fi nding service, links to planning agencies are orga­ nized by state and category: City Planning, County and Regional Planning, Community Development Corporations, Non­Profi ts, and Consulting Firms. Access: http://www. urbanplanningnow.com/public.shtml. Planning research and practice • The Earth Institute at Columbia Uni- versity. The institute supports research in the biological, engineering, social and health sciences fields, with a focus on sustainable development. Current research projects at the institute can be explored using an interactive Smyth Lai is research associate at Portland State University, e-mail: slai@pdx.edu © 2007 Smyth Lai C&RL News January 2007 10 mailto:slai@pdx.edu http://www http://www http:http://www.acsp.org map tool found under the “Action” section. Access: http://www.earth.columbia.edu/. • Institute for Policy Research (IPR), Northwestern University. IPR is an inter­ disciplinary public policy research institute, and includes urban policy and community development in its policy briefs and working papers series. These resources, along with the organization’s newsletters dating back to 1997, are available for free. Access: http://www. northwestern.edu/ipr/index.html. • National Building Museum. This cul­ tural institution was created by an act of Con­ gress in 1980, and hosts physical and virtual exhibits dedicated to exploring architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning. Transcripts of lectures and issues of the museum publication Blueprints are avail­ able. Access: http://www.nbm.org/. • The Urban Institute (UI). UI is a non­ partisan economic and social policy research organization with a good balance of cover­ age among international, federal, state, and local sectors. The site covers a wide range of issues relevant to planners: housing, neigh­ borhoods and community, and mobility and transportation. Access: http://www.urban. org/about/index.cfm. Gateways • Cyburbia. Established in 1994 at the University of Buffalo­Cyburbia, this site con­ tains a comprehensive directory of Internet resources relevant to planning and urbanism. In addition to the 1,871 links in 492 catego­ ries available in the resource directory, the portal also hosts active online forums. Access: http://www.cyburbia.org/. • dmoz.org Planning Director y. This directory is part of the Open Directory Proj­ ect, and covers topics such as growth and sprawl, historic preservation, transportation, sustainability. This particular category on the dmoz.org site is available in nine languages. Access: http://dmoz.org/Science/Social _Sciences/Urban_and_Regional_Planning/. • G O S – G e o s p a t i a l O n e S t o p. A l s o known as geodata.gov, GOS serves as a public gateway for geospatial information. The site contains links to federal, state, and local Web sites, where geospatial data can be downloaded. Community building and data sharing is a focus of the portal, and opportu­ nities are provided for users to publish data and search for partners for data collections and acquisitions. Access: http://gos2.geodata. gov/wps/portal/gos. Digital libraries • N a t i o n a l Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n L i b r a r y (NTL). This digital library, established through the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, is charged with the mission to increase timely access to information that sup­ ports transportation policy and research. Us­ ers can search or browse various documents published by public, academic, and private organizations. The virtual library also offers topical bibliographies, transportation defi ni­ tions and acronyms, and an Ask­A­Librarian service. Access: http://ntl.bts.gov/. • O r e g o n S u s t a i n ab l e C o m m u n i t y Digital Library (OSCDL). OSCDL provides a central online repository for key urban planning documents on the Portland Met­ ropolitan area. As a result of a collaboration among Portland State University and various municipal and nonprofit agencies, planning re­ ports, policy records, historical correspondence, and digital images can be viewed online. An interactive mapping feature allows re­ searchers to control more than 60 data layers to gather information about the region’s topography, land use, parks, transportation and other features. Progress is being made to create simultaneous use of the static documents and the current interactive mapping features on the site so that planning documents can be represented in a geographic context. Access: http://oscdl.research.pdx.edu/. January 2007 11 C&RL News http:http://oscdl.research.pdx.edu http:http://ntl.bts.gov http://gos2.geodata http:geodata.gov http://dmoz.org/Science/Social http:dmoz.org http:dmoz.org http:http://www.cyburbia.org http://www.urban http:http://www.nbm.org http://www http:http://www.earth.columbia.edu • S m a r t G r ow t h Re s o u r c e L i b r a r y. The Smart Growth Resource Library provides access to reports, Web sites, tools and case studies covering topics such as transporta­ tion, housing, and urban design. The digital library is available as part of the Smart Growth Network, which was “formed in response to in­ creasing community concerns about the need for new ways to grow that boost the econ­ omy, protect the environment, and enhance community vitality.” Access: http://www. smartgrowth.org/library/default.asp. E-journals and blogs • Places Jour nal. The peer­reviewed journal explores the relationship between design and the creation of neighborhoods, parks, streets, workplaces, infrastructure, and other spaces that support communities. Ac­ cess: http://www.places­journal.org/. • R andall Crane’s Urban Pla nning Research Blog. Crane, a UCLA Department of Urban Planning professor, maintains a blog where topics including sprawl, subur­ banization, smart growth, and transportation are discussed. The majority of the posts are lengthy, have an academic tone, and include bibliographic references. Both an RSS feed and e­mail updates are available. Access: http://planningresearch.blogspot.com/. • Shelterforce Online. This National Housing Institute publication began in 1975 as a “how­to” resource for tenant activists. The publication examines the issues caus­ ing the crisis in housing and community in America, and serves as a primary forum for advocates in the affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization movements. Ac­ cess: http://www.nhi.org/online/. • Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy (SSPP). Published semi­annually, SSPP is a peer­reviewed, open access journal that provides a platform for the dissemination of new practices and for dialogue emerg­ ing out of the field of sustainability. Access: http://ejournal.nbii.org. • Urban Cartography. This collaborative blog discusses mapping, GIS, land use, urban planning, and related subjects. The posts are searchable, and an RSS feed is available. Ac­ cess: http://www.urbancartography.com/. News and forums • A PA D a i l y P l a n n i n g N e w s . T h e American Planning Association offers full­text access to planning articles from U.S. news­ papers and periodicals. Access: http://www. planning.org/news/feed.htm. • H-URBAN. This forum was established in 1993 at the University of Illinois­Chicago and is part of the international scholarly net­ work, H­NET (Humanities and Social Science OnLine). It is geared toward an audience of urban history and urban studies scholars, professionals, and graduate students. In ad­ dition to the forum, the site provides links to book reviews, syllabi, teaching tools, and a scholars directory. Access: http://www.h­net. org/~urban/. • Planetizen. This public­interest infor­ mation exchange includes news updates, ac­ tive forums, commentary, interviews, as well as press releases and announcements from other urban planning sites and publications. A biweekly newsletter, RSS feeds, and free podcasts of planning news and discussions are available. Access: http://www.planetizen. com/. • Smar t City Public Radio Program. The weekly radio talk show explores urban life and planning trends. Guests include public policy experts, elected offi cials, econo­ mists, developers, and planners. The site gives information about the live broadcast, and provides access to past shows, a podcast, and links to related online resources. Access: http://www.smartcityradio.com/. • Urbanism.org. This news site has a Google­like, unembellished layout and is updated several times daily. Though it lacks C&RL News January 2007 12 http:Urbanism.org http:http://www.smartcityradio.com http://www.planetizen http://www.h-net http://www http:http://www.urbancartography.com http:http://ejournal.nbii.org http://www.nhi.org/online http:http://planningresearch.blogspot.com http:http://www.places-journal.org http://www an RSS feed, readers can subscribe to a yahoo e­group to receive updates. Access: www. urbanism.org New urbanism resources What is new urbanism? According to the American Planning Association, it is “a time­ tested planning practice that incorporates interrelated patterns of land use, transporta­ tion, and urban form to create communities that foster the most desirable characteris­ tics of human habitation: neighborliness, environmental sustainability, economic efficiency and prosperity, historic preserva­ tion, participation in civic processes, and human health.” The following resources should allow students to explore this topic in more detail, particularly how it is put into practice by city and regional planners. • APA-New Urbanism Division. Though much of the content is restricted to members, news stories and a list of recommended readings on the topic is available. Those with memberships can access newsletters, presentations, and join the electronic list. Ac­ cess: http://www.planning.org/newurbanism /index.htm. • Cong r ess f or the New Urbanism (CNU). This San Francisco­based nonprofi t organization is a collaboration among archi­ tects, planners, developers, and community activists who work to reform North America’s urban growth patterns. The CNU site in­ cludes searchable databases of publications, an image bank, and a bibliography. Access: http://www.cnu.org/. • Latino New Urbanism (LNU). The LNU project began in 2003 as part of the Transportation and Land Use collaborative. The concepts behind the project build upon the thesis that the growing population of Latinos in California may become instru­ mental in the construction of more compact and sustainable cities in the state. The site offers background information about LNU, summaries from past conferences, and the opportunity to receive e­mail updates. Ac­ cess: http://latinonewurbanism.org/. Sustainable development • Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI). ESI is an initiative of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia University. The index ranks countries on 21 elements of environ­ mental sustainability, and the site provides access to the current and past reports and underlying data. Access: http://sedac.ciesin. columbia.edu/es/esi. • EPA-Sustainability. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) site “examines sus­ tainability and provides links to EPA programs and tools in four key areas: the Built or Hu­ man­created Environment; Water, Ecosystems and Agriculture; Energy and the Environ­ ment; and Materials and Toxics. Links to the programs and tools are organized in three categories: Policies and Programs; Research, Tools and Technologies; and Assessments and Performance Measures.” Access: http://www. epa.gov/sustainability/. • Smar t Communities Network. This site, formerly the Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development, is managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technol­ ogy for the U.S. Department of Energy. The program aims to assist communities with adopting sustainable development practices, and the site covers multiple topics relating to sustainability: green development, land use planning, community energy, transportation, sustainable business, and resource effi ciency. Full­text publications, tool kits, manuals, and other educational resources are available. Access: http://www.smartcommunities.ncat. org/. Government resources and statistics • American FactFinder. This invaluable resource provides access to thematic maps, community fact sheets, housing reports, and census data. Most notably, however, is the inclusion of the new American Community Survey, which will provide annual rather than decennial demographic, socioeconomic, and housing information. Access: http://factfi nder. census.gov. January 2007 13 C&RL News http:census.gov http://factfi http://www.smartcommunities.ncat http://www http://sedac.ciesin http:http://latinonewurbanism.org http:http://www.cnu.org http://www.planning.org/newurbanism http:urbanism.org Springer eBooks Spend less time searching and more time researching. 7 Grouped in 12 subject specific Online Libraries 7 Collection comprises Textbooks, Monographs, Handbooks, Major Reference Works, and more COME VIS IT US AT ACRL BOOTH #614 012383x BLMA springerlink.com Introducing 7 More than 3,000 New eBooks and eReference Works Every Year 7 Ownership Business Model 7 Unlimited Simultaneous Use • DataPlace. This Fannie Mae­sponsored site culls demographic, economic, social, and housing data from multiple government agen­ cies and presents it in a simple, straightfor­ ward format. Users can create thematic maps and scatterplots to represent the information. Access: http://www.dataplace.org/. • HUD USER. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) clearinghouse offers information on housing and community development, datasets, and HUD regulations. Access: http://www.huduser.org/. • TranStats. The Bureau of Transporta­ tion Statistics supports this site designed for transportation researchers and analysts. Da­ tasets are organized by mode, subject, and agency. Access: http://www.bts.gov/. • USGS-GIS Education Resources. Sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Education and Communications program, this site provides lessons, tools, and guidelines for using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), software frequently employed by planners to manage, analyze, and disseminate geographic knowledge. Access: http://education.usgs. gov/common/lessons/gis.html. Associations • American Institute of Architects. Ac­ cess: http://www.aia.org. • A m e r i c a n I n s t i t u t e o f C e r t i f i e d Planners. Access: http://www.planning. org/aicp/. • American Planning Association. Ac­ cess: http://www.apa.org. • Community Development Society. Access: http://comm­dev.org/. • Urban Affairs Association. Access: http://www.udel.edu/uaa/. C&RL News January 2007 14 http://www.udel.edu/uaa http:http://comm-dev.org http:http://www.apa.org http://www.planning http:http://www.aia.org http://education.usgs http:http://www.bts.gov http:http://www.huduser.org http:http://www.dataplace.org http:�springerlink.com