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11 PLANNING COMMISSIONERS JOURNAL / NUMBER 78 / SPRING 2010 online form broadens that con- versation. Featuring commen- taries, academic essays, and archives dating back to issue one, Places offers a valuable new home for thoughtful discussion and analysis of urbanism and place. SEECLICKFIX seeclickfix.com/citizens Harnessing the power of the crowd, SeeClickFix is an easy- to-use web interface that allows citizens to identify and report city reportage are band listings, random Flickr photos, and rumors, but the Ists also regular- ly bring breaking local news that can leave local newspapers in the dust. LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY lincolninst.edu The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is an international research organization that focus- es on issues of land use, regula- tion, and taxation. It also happens to have a highly useful website that is thick with resources and tools, including a database with everything you’d ever need to know about the property tax; a collection of “visual tools” to communicate planning concepts; and more than 700 case studies of colleges and universities and how they integrate into urban neighbor- hoods. While not the flashiest of websites in terms of design, there’s a wealth of interesting research on a variety of land use issues. PLACES places.designobserver.com Places is the new online home of Places Journal, the interdisci- plinary journal of contemporary architecture, landscape, and urbanism. Published since 1983, Places Journal has played a vibrant and active role in the urban discourse, and its new The front page features detailed reportage on the world’s transit systems, with insightful commentary. But deeper in, the site is an encyclopedia of exist- ing, under construction, and planned transit systems. Freemark is an independent researcher based in France who somehow manages to seem like he is everyplace at once. WALKSHED walkshed.org Walkshed is the brainchild of software developer Aaron Ogle. It takes the “walkscore” concept and puts the controls in your hands. For exam- ple, if you hate to you enter, showing places that cater most to your particular needs. So far Ogle has only cov- ered New York and Philadelphia, but the model looks highly promising, and is easy to use. Try it out to get a feel for how it works. Note from PCJ Editor Wayne Senville. I tried out Walkshed, using my former Philadelphia address (307 Pine Street, where I lived in 1980-81). I invite you to insert my former address and see the many nearby bars, restau- rants, and coffee shops I’ve been missing! ◆ Top 10 You’ve just seen Planetizen’s Top 10 Websites of 2009. How about taking a look at the Top 10: Books for Planners; Great Public Spaces; Green Projects; Endangered Roadside Places; and much more? You’ll find a fascinating variety of Top 10 lists at: plannersweb.com/top10.html cook and prefer to avoid grocery stores (but you find restaurants and coffee shops essential), you can weight those search factors more heavily. Walkshed gener- ates what’s called a “heatmap” over the area near the address problems in their communities – and track their progress (or lack thereof). With search capabili- ties, mapping tools, and problem trackers, concerned citizens can keep tabs on the civic problems in their communities and make sure their local officials do too. SeeClickFix is one of the most promising tools available to enhance public participation in government. THE TRANSPORT POLITIC thetransportpolitic.com There are a lot of blogs and sites covering transit and trans- portation issues, but Yonah Freemark has created a news- page that is a cut above the fray.