Density

Cape Town's Growth Outpaces Infrastructure Funding

The pace of development in Cape Town, South Africa, is too fast for the city to keep up with infrastructure improvements. Officials are calling for increased gas taxes to generate funding for maintenance of roads and other infrastructure.

22 September 2008 - 11:00am

Cape Times

Seattle's Housing Can't Handle Projected Growth

Seattle is growing, and it's going to have to start thinking about augmenting its single-family neighborhoods with more multi-unit housing if it wants to keep up with the pace of growth.

19 September 2008 - 7:00pm

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Toronto's High-Rise Boom Could Mean End of Sprawl

Toronto is swimming in high-rise construction, with the second highest rate in the world. Some say this shift to the urban core spells the end of sprawl in Toronto.

19 September 2008 - 9:00am

Globe and Mail

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2 comments

Big Density Plans for Toronto

Toronto is considering a broad new plan to encourage higher density.

5 September 2008 - 7:00am

The Globe and Mail

From Mansion to Condo

According to the New York Times, more than half of recent home sales in Los Angeles are condos, as density around transit, particularly downtown, becomes de rigeur.

22 August 2008 - 9:00am

The New York Times

Mixed-Use Faces Mixed Reviews in Fullerton

In Fullerton, CA, a dense new mixed-use building is facing criticism from neighbors and residents. 'All of a sudden we get one of these mixed-use buildings, [and] it's like a fort got dropped out of the sky,' says one neighbor.

20 August 2008 - 2:00pm

The Los Angeles Times

NIMBYs On Vacation

Next American City nails NIMBYs for their vacation choices.

26 July 2008 - 5:00am

The Next American City

Paris Considers Ditching Building Height Limits

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë has proposed abandoning the city's long-held building height restriction of 37 meters, citing the city's need to grow.

10 July 2008 - 8:00am

Telegraph

Density Creates Democrats

The Boston Globe says that when suburbs become denser, 'Democrats promising mass transit become more appealing than Republicans promising to protect gun ownership.'

8 July 2008 - 2:00pm

The Boston Globe

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3 comments

Smart Growth in Sacramento

The Wall Street Journal looks at this "smart growth" thing, and considers the model of Sacramento, CA (actually, most of the footage is of neighboring Davis) in an article and accompanying video.

7 July 2008 - 11:00am

Wall St. Journal

U.S. House Debates Smart Growth

The House Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming met Thursday to discuss smart growth and its ability to reduce energy use and emissions.

22 June 2008 - 7:00am

Grist

Houston Thinks About Changing Lifestyles to Fight Congestion

This segment from NPR features a discussion with Houston Mayor Bill White about the city's increasing congestion, the limits of zoning, and the population's reaction to rising gas prices.

22 June 2008 - 5:00am

NPR

'EcoDensity' Comes Through in Vancouver

A major rezoning plan has been approved in Vancouver, including the toughest environmental standards in North America.

13 June 2008 - 7:00am

The Vancouver Sun

Ottawans Make Case Against Density

Dimitri Roussopoulos of Urban Ecology and Capital Councillor Clive Doucet make the case that city planning in Ottawa ignores the smart growth plan in place, is driven by economics, and is not in the best interest of communities.

2 June 2008 - 12:00pm

The Ottawa Citizen

Big Box on a Diet

Big box stores are following their customers into downtowns, and stores like Circuit City and Target are retooling for density.

1 June 2008 - 5:00am

Architectural Record

Challenges Ahead for Tyson's Corner To Become Livable City

Tyson's Corner, an auto-oriented suburb of Washington, D.C., reveals ambitious plans to become a dense, urban community. Officials are bracing themselves for tough opposition from locals. The Washington Post story includes a video report.

29 May 2008 - 2:00pm

The Washington Post

Israel Weighs Smart Growth

The Movement for Israeli Urbanism makes the case that Israel's current planning policies are not sustainable.

27 May 2008 - 2:00pm

The Jerusalem Post

UK 'Eco-Towns' May Encourage Sprawl

Plans for the construction of "eco-towns" in the UK have sparked protests from groups who argue that they will be too spread out and will encourage sprawl.

23 May 2008 - 5:00am

Telegraph

Diana DeRubertis

Is 'Walking Distance' Overrated?

Sun, 05/18/2008 - 11:17

The common wisdom about walkable neighborhoods holds that density – proximity to destinations – determines the number of walking trips. An ideal walking distance of a quarter mile is usually prescribed between residences and the nearest transit stop or retail center.

I don’t dispute that walking distance is important, especially when I’m lugging an armload of groceries. However, some trendy high-density development favors compactness at the expense of comfort and safety.

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Areas of Stability and Change

Two new classifications of land in Denver -- areas of change and areas of stability -- are moving the city's redevelopment and densification plans forward.

5 May 2008 - 10:00am

The Rocky Mountain News