The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

From Austin to Copenhagen, swings of varying shapes and sizes are adding a bit of whimsy, refreshment, and visual interest to urban environments. And they're not just for children!

October 7 - This City Life

After spending $820 million over fifteen years to rebuild 423 lane-miles along Interstate 80 from Auburn to the Nevada state border, Caltrans is finally done with the road project.

October 7 - Sacramento Bee

If high demand cities like Seattle hope to avoid the fate of insanely priced cities like San Francisco, they'll have to do a better job of addressing the housing supply side and stop placing the burden of subsidy on new development.

October 7 - Citytank

Using high definition scanners, digital modeling, and Scan-to-BIM software, consultants and non-profits are helping to restore historic structures following natural disasters, and cataloging treasures before calamity strikes.

October 7 - The Architect's Newspaper

The NAACP is probably not the first advocacy group you think of when it comes to supporting walking and biking. But the civil rights organization encourages increasing physical activity in minority communities to help reduce childhood obesity.

October 7 - DC.Streetsblog

Perkins + Will, the architecture firm behind a new residence hall at Bridgewater State University, have attached an unusual provision to their green design: no mini-fridges or personal microwaves allowed.

October 7 - Treehugger

In what's being called "the largest downtown land acquisition since the recession", six acres of parking lots will be redeveloped as a $750-million mixed-use complex - continuing the astonishing transformation of L.A.'s South Park neighborhood.

October 7 - Los Angeles Times

The Port Authority of Allegheny County is moving forward with plans to remove buses and bus stops from Downtown Pittsburgh in an effort to decrease congestion on the streets and sidewalks. The plan is supported by the presumptive next mayor.

October 7 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Last week, Facebook announced that it is working with a local developer to build a 394-unit housing complex adjacent to its campus in Menlo Park, California.

October 7 - The Wall Street Journal

Although they've been derided by urbanists near and far, Minneapolitans overwhelmingly support the city's Skyways. James Corner Field Operations embraces the skyway system as a key element in its proposal for the city's Nicollet Mall Redesign.

October 7 - Streets MN

Community gardens and small-scale farms could soon start sprouting in California's cities thanks to a new law that allows municipalities to lower property taxes on small plots of land in exchange for at least five years of agricultural use.

October 6 - Los Angeles Times

Based on lessons from recent disasters in Chicago and New York, where lively urban spaces helped communities to survive and recover, Michael Kimmelman suggests that neighborhood libraries could be designed with such a purpose in mind.

October 6 - The New York Times

As cost estimates for California's high-speed rail system have risen, public support for the project has dropped. But desire for the project's predicted benefits remains strong.

October 6 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

A partnership between the NYC Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) and OpenStreetMap is a promising example of the public sector and tech communities working together to improve the accuracy and usability of data sets.

October 6 - MapBox

Owen Hatherley looks to the approach to public housing pioneered in the London boroughs of Islington and Camden in the 1960's and 70's for a solution to the capital's extreme gentrification.

October 6 - The Guardian

As L.A.'s iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall celebrates its tenth anniversary, Sam Lubell ponders how its shimmering stainless steel skin reflects the city's approach to architecture and urban design.

October 5 - The Architect's Newspaper

Andy Singer is an alternative transportation advocate that uses cartoons, rather than written diatribes or combative slideshows, to argue against America's auto-oriented environments and policies.

October 5 - The Atlantic Cities

Three groups review the final bill (also known as Kings Arena bill) that reformed California's landmark, but controversial 1970 environmental law known as CEQA: CA Economic Summit, NRDC and Climate Plan. All credit the author, Sen. Darrell Steinberg.

October 5 - NRDC Switchboard

Though his "Tale of Two Cities" was the centerpiece of Bill de Blasio's mayoral campaign, details on how the candidate plans to narrow New York City's rising inequality have been scarce. With a speech on Friday, he sought to fill in the gaps.

October 5 - The New York Times

To celebrate National Community Planning Month, the American Planning Association (APA) has revealed its seventh annual list of the country's 10 great neighborhoods, 10 great streets, and 10 great public spaces.

October 5 - APA