The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

When the West Fertilizer Co plant exploded last week in Texas, it severely damaged homes and schools located in close proximity to the property, and killed dozens of people. Markos Moulitsas blames lax zoning standards for putting lives at risk.

April 23 - Daily Kos

In a quest to develop a plan to house the additional 1 million people expected to grow New Zealand's largest city in the next 30 years, Auckland is asking residents to submit ideas by using a "housing simulator" game.

April 23 - Fast Company Co.Exist

In a scathing op-ed for The New York Times, architect Robert Stern challenges the city's drive to densify East Midtown without paying the requisite attention to preservation, infrastructure, and the elements that give vitality to great cities.

April 23 - The New York Times

The environmental awakening of the 1970s led to landmark federal laws that have helped heal our natural systems. The growing “Rights of Nature” movement seeks to create new protections to respond to emerging ecological threats.

April 22 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Brad Plumer looks at the latest data on Americans' driving habits, which shows that vehicle miles driven have fallen an astonishing 8.75 percent since June 2005. Despite the end of the recession, driving rates continue their downward trend. But why?

April 22 - The Washington Post

Although its inward-facing corporate design may be loathed by architects and planners, L.A. Live's success in helping to draw redevelopment and activity to South Park is indisputable. Can its successes be replicated in Seattle?

April 22 - The Seattle Times

In time for Earth Day, American Rivers has released its annual list of the country's most threatened rivers. Topping this year's list is the Colorado River, a waterway so dammed, diverted and over-tapped that it ultimately "dries to a trickle."

April 22 - Take Part

A major environmental lawsuit against the High Speed Rail Authority brought by Central Valley farmers and other parties was settled on April 18, clearing the way for initial construction to begin on the 30 mile corridor between Madera and Fresno.

April 22 - KQED

Despite the end of the recession, the number of New Yorkers in, or near, poverty continues to creep up, with 46 percent of the city's residents making less than 150 percent of the poverty threshold, reports Sam Roberts.

April 22 - The New York Times

From traditional stormwater management to storm surge abatement and conserving drinking water and watersheds, green infrastructure improves our cities, explains Adrian Benepe of the Trust for Public Land.

April 22 - Sustainable Cities Collective

With a new area plan oriented around the arrival of Denver's West Light Rail line, planners are hoping to spur a transformation of the city's Sun Valley neighborhood. Can the area diversify without displacing existing residents?

April 22 - The Denver Post

Speculation about property values is as old as the U.S. itself, but it used to be much more localized, explains Robert Shiller, Yale economist. Is the recent housing roller coaster likely to repeat itself in the future?

April 22 - New York Times

A group of America's leading corporations, health care providers, and government officials are preparing to launch a national walking movement this fall. "If walking was a pill or surgical procedure, it would be on 60 Minutes,” says Dr. Bob Sallis.

April 22 - Citiwire.net

In Los Angeles, where “historic” is a relative term, a 150-year-old house is remarkable. How about a 150-year-old palm tree?

April 21 - Los Angeles Magazine

Frustrated by what's passing as "smart growth" and "transit oriented development," Bill Adams postulates ten refinements (or less subtly stated clarifications) of the principles of smart growth and new urbanism.

April 21 - UrbDeZine.com

Despite a decade of gentrification, New York "oldest streetscape" still retains enough of its historic character to warrant recent listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Sam Roberts explores the "palimpsest of New York City history."

April 21 - The New York Times

BLOG POST

Every year we analyze all of the tweets from the APA Conference and tell you about the trends in planning. With more than 1,000 people tweeting from the APA Conference, there is a lot of great ideas, links, and blogs that we can all learn from.

April 21 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

Lien Hoang looks at efforts by Vietnam's government to get ahead of rising living standards, and the auto congestion that often accompanies, by building modern transit systems in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

April 21 - The New York Times

With the costs of rebuilding after natural disaster in the U.S. escalating (now estimated at $50 billion a year), David R. Conrad and Edward A. Thomas argue that scant resources can be better spent on mitigation rather than rebuilding in place.

April 21 - Los Angeles Times

As golden age of train travel came to an end, the fate of the world's train stations became unclear. But by utilizing their grand, flexible spaces, creative designers have found a variety of ways to keep the relics relevant.

April 20 - Flavorwire