The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

"The Roaring 'Twenties", an interactive soundscape created by a historian of sound, technology and cultures of listening at Princeton, seeks to immerse people in the sounds of 1929 New York City, and demonstrate that noise pollution is nothing new.

October 27 - The New York Times

As we've noted here, some of the most popular bike share systems have been victims of their own success, with high use docking stations often full or empty - depending on the time of day. Henry Grabar examines efforts to automate the rebalancing act.

October 26 - Salon

On these pages we usually tout the developed world's decline in driving and car ownership. But in Saudi Arabia, where women are not allowed to drive, the automobile serves as a vehicle for improving human rights.

October 26 - The New York Times

For an effective, low-cost alternative to San Francisco’s bank-breaking street parking program, look no further than Seattle.

October 26 - The Atlantic Cities

In the premier episode of NPR's special series, "U.S. Commutes: The Way We Get To Work", host David Greene explores the background of the D.C. suburb of Arlington, Va., and how a planning decision in the 1960s was crucial to its vibrancy today.

October 26 - NPR

Despite federal ‘optimism,’ a new Environment Canada report indicates the country is not on pace to meet 2020 Copenhagen Accord emissions targets. Experts point to weak federal environmental policies, most notably in the oil and gas sector.

October 26 - The Huffington Post

No doubt, a few angry fingers were wagged in Xi'an, Shaanxi province after a superblock of apartments was built where an eight-lane highway was supposed to go. The solution: just build the highway though it.

October 25 - The Daily Mail

Originally intended for permanent farmland and open space, Davis, CA will consider whether 391 acres along its eastern edge should instead be used for a business technology park, reports Mark Anderson.

October 25 - Sacramento Business Journal

The fight to block approval of the Keystone XL pipeline has galvanized support like few recent controversies. But is there a danger in focusing so much attention on one decision when there are innumerable threats to the climate across North America?

October 25 - Earth Island Journal

More bike corrals, bike sharing, and parklets are on the way to the Golden State's capital thanks to the city council's unanimous vote on Oct. 22 with support from cyclists, pedestrians, businesses, and the regional air district.

October 25 - The Sacramento Bee

China's rapid rebuilding effort has produced mountains of debris as old cities are replaced with gleaming new metropolises. Illegal dumping is coming under fire as it gets more and more difficult to conceal the evidence.

October 25 - The New York Times

A year after $2 billion high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes opened along the Capital Beltway in Northern Virginia, traffic volume remains below projections.

October 25 - WAMU

Some of Denver's leaders are sounding the alarm over rising household income levels and the threat to affordable housing. But in an editorial in The Denver Post, Vincent Carroll argues that an exclusive downtown Denver is better than the alternative.

October 25 - The Denver Post

Despite warnings of the threats posed by rising seas and more extreme storms in the years leading up to Hurricane Sandy, the New York region's preparations lagged behind where experts thought they should be. Has anything changed since Sandy?

October 25 - Fast Company Co.Exist

A dispute over ownership of a strip of abandoned Pacific Railroad Company line in Wyoming will test the legal underpinnings of thousands of miles of rail-trails throughout the Unites States.

October 25 - DC.Streetsblog

The U.S. House of Representatives has nearly unanimously passed a new bill! While that's news in itself, the bill facilitates infrastructure improvements (water-oriented in this case), an often divisive issue.

October 25 - Governing

FEATURE

Ever notice how competitors like Target and Walmart tend to cluster together? Ken Steif has, and through a close analysis of retail location trends in NY, NJ, and CT, he examines which businesses tend to agglomerate and why.

October 24 - Ken Steif

In a debate held on Tuesday, and in a subsequent radio interview, leading New York City mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio indicated he'd like to study whether to bring back automobiles to a stretch of Broadway that had been closed for pedestrians.

October 24 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

As the first segment of the new $2-3 billion freeway called I-69 linking Evansville and Indianapolis nears completion, Southwest Indiana leaders are already agitating to build the state's next "massive boondoggle," writes Aaron Renn.

October 24 - Urbanophile

A new report says the investments made in hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver were worth it. But could the area have gotten the same benefits without the Games?

October 24 - The Globe and Mail