The city of San Jose has the "least distinctive" downtown skyline of the nation's major cities, according to editorial board of The Mercury News. The City Council has a chance to change that.
[Updated: The City Council voted to approve the new height limits for Downtown San Jose.]
"The City Council should vote Tuesday to raise building height limits in parts of downtown," according to the argument in this editorial by The Mercury News. "It makes good business sense and is an important strategic step toward crafting a more vibrant downtown that entices people to work, live and play."
On the table are new height restrictions that would allow buildings to rise 5 to 35 feet higher in the downtown core and 70 to 150 feet higher around Diridon Station.
"City officials say raising the height limits would allow construction of an additional 9 million square feet of office space and bring in about $5 million more in city tax revenues each year," according to the editorial.
The editorial also makes the case that the new height limits meet standards necessary for air travel to and from the Mineta San Jose International Airport.
FULL STORY: Editorial: Why San Jose should raise downtown building height limits
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association