The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

CA Gov. Jerry Brown stated he had big plans in his State of the State speech on Jan 24. Thanks to temporary tax increases under Prop 30 and spending cuts, the budget is finally balanced. Yet he also called for 'fiscal constraint' - contradictory?

January 29 - Calbuzz

Efforts to transform L.A.'s maligned river into a public and economic asset got a boost last week with the establishment of a cross-disciplinary and cross-agency planning effort focused on an eight-mile stretch of the river.

January 29 - KCET Departures

Does your community allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good? Scott Doyon kicks off an ongoing look at community-unfriendly behaviors.

January 29 - PlaceShakers

As Oscar season approaches, Arch Daily has gathered a list of "30 of the best Architecture Documentaries which will provoke, intrigue and beguile in 2013."

January 29 - Arch Daily

Recalling the structure of ancient trade hubs, the Brookings Institute’s Alan Berube calls for local and national policies to once again place cities at the center of international trading strategies.

January 29 - Project Syndicate

As New York's Grand Central Terminal celebrates its 100th birthday, Kent Barwick recalls how he and a motley group of advocates including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis saved the building from being buried beneath a skyscraper.

January 29 - The New York Times

Zak Stone looks at the innovative technologies that Scandinavian companies are developing to improve the safety of the most vulnerable road users.

January 28 - Fast Company Co.Exist

At the CNU-FL statewide meeting held last week, Andrés Duany articulated his vision for how planning must adapt to the new realities of "national impoverishment" and climate change by utilizing the tools of tactical urbanism, writes Erin Chantry.

January 28 - Helm of the Public Realm

From a giant dam across the Golden Gate to a dozen "ventilated levees," the options proposed for protecting San Francisco Bay from rising seas are neither cheap nor subtle. But with sea level rise "around the corner," hard choices must be made.

January 28 - San Francisco Chronicle

Isolating poor residents from rich ones is not only bad for those being segregated, it leads to the worst outcomes for a city as a whole. Fighting displacement results in less crime and more stable and healthy communities.

January 28 - Rooflines

Stephanie Steinberg and Bill Vlasic survey the growing universe of car-sharing services. From big corporations to non-profits, the high demand for car sharing in urban areas allows a variety of alternatives to "coexist comfortably."

January 28 - The New York Times

As new studies show the fundamental connection between trees and human health, cities are recognizing the essential elements in cultivating thriving urban canopies. And they're enacting policies to ensure their protection and growth.

January 28 - Next City

In the wake of the problem-plagued privatization of Chicago's parking meters in 2008, two WSJ reporters assess conversions (or attempts) in Indianapolis (2010), Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Cincinnati and New York, as well as what went wrong in Chicago.

January 28 - The Wall Street Jounal

Before Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was thrown off his bike by a taxi, shattering his elbow in the process, L.A. was known as "a pathologically unfriendly bike city." Two years later, the city has made incredible strides in building its bike culture.

January 28 - Los Angeles Times

As recent headlines reveal the insecurity faced by women in India’s largest cities, the role – and responsibility – of urban planning is being questioned.

January 28 - The Atlantic Cities

The results of a new poll conducted for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution show that even in a notoriously sprawling metro (and perhaps more so), transit riders have a stronger connection to their neighborhoods and the larger region.

January 28 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

BLOG POST

Governments need money to finance transportation system improvements, but revenues from traditional sources are flat. This is leading to debate over how best to generate new funds. There are many possible options, some better than others, because in addition to raising revenue, they support other strategic objectives. Politicians will be tempted to choose the easiest funding options. It is up to planners to point out the best options, taking into account all impacts.

January 27 - Todd Litman

By comparing the city's density, scale, and distribution of employment nodes to other major cities, Kristin Eberhard makes the case for why and how transit can work in big, dense, polycentric Los Angeles.

January 27 - NRDC Switchboard

The subject of a recent summit hosted by software maker Esri, Larry Greenemeier explains the application of Geodesign to help predict and manage the increasingly complex intersection of design, land use, ecology, and climate change.

January 27 - Scientific American

Even for more seasoned bicyclists, cycling in winter can pose many problems. The winter-minded city of Montreal, however, is attempting to improve the condition of winter cycling in an effort to improve the city’s sustainability.

January 27 - Global Site Plans - The Grid