The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

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We Americans love a discount. Wal-Mart and the discount retail boom are proof enough of that. What we love even more, though, is free stuff. Just slap the word &quot;free&quot; before almost anything and we&#39;ll line up.<br /> <br /> This mentality represents some challenges for cities, but also some opportunities. The challenge is that if people don&#39;t have to pay for something, they probably won&#39;t. And the opportunity is that if people don&#39;t have to pay for something, they&#39;re way more likely to want it. Let&#39;s think of this concept in terms of three innately American traditions: pancakes, mobility, and beer.<br />

March 19 - Nate Berg

In the next few months, the Dutch capital will make numerous changes to make its infrastructure greener. With the help of private companies like Cisco and IBM, Amsterdam is closer to becoming a "smart city" than any other in Europe.

March 19 - BusinessWeek

Habitat for Humanity, known for building low-cost, affordable houses, has taken to deconstructing homes in Saginaw, MI. Reselling the materials and building smaller homes in their stead make more sense than rehabilitating an old house, they say.

March 19 - The New York Times

The city of Waco, Texas, imposes limits on new billboards--hoping to reduce its overall inventory with a "cap and replace" strategy.

March 19 - News 8 Austin

Have high-speed rail stimulus funds put us any closer to technology like mag-lev? A long record of underfunding makes many of such projects shovel-unready, but hopes are still high.

March 19 - Miller-McCune

In the latest episode of his podcast, James Howard Kunstler provides commentary on the urbanism of Paris. By following along with Google Street View, you can walk the streets and see what he sees.

March 19 - KunstlerCast

Envisioning a form of government more efficient to strategically invest scarce local, state and federal dollars is at the heart of such a proposal.

March 19 - Albany

Colorado law prohibits the collection of rainwater, but urban farmers, environmentally-conscious homeowners, and even developers are catching on to its benefits and building momentum for the legalization of rainwater harvesting.

March 19 - Los Angeles Times

The economic downturn and burst of the real estate bubble have thrown a wrench into New York City's broad plans for redevelopment and environmental redesign. This piece looks at what lies ahead for the city.

March 19 - The New York Times

Architectural eccentricity is becoming a rarity in New York, as evidenced by the demolition of the O'Toole Building--a fairly weird building.

March 19 - New York Magazine

Stocked with architectural gems but fraught with crime, San Francisco's Tenderloin district has long been debated as a possible historic site. The debate is now over, as it was recently named to the National Register of Historic Places.

March 19 - San Francisco Chronicle

FEATURE

March 19 - Judy Chang

A one-size-fits-all urban landscape doesn't mean that different ethnic neighborhoods don't find ways to personalize them. A UC Berkeley graduate student investigates how cultures perceive space.

March 18 - San Francisco Chronicle

President Obama has promised to give cities a new image, one as the engines that drive the economy and whose issues are intertwined with those of the suburbs. This article looks at some of the big ideas shaping the new city.

March 18 - Architect Magazine

Nearly $100 million in transportation funding that has been sidelined in Milwaukee over bureaucratic disagreements will finally come to use, as Mayor Tom Barrett announces provisions in the Federal Omnibus Budget Bill call for it to be spent.

March 18 - Biz Times

Records show that there have been about 300 injuries related to faulty New York public housing elevators since 2001. Ironically, a problem stemming from chronic underfunding has cost the Housing Authority $3.5 million in settlements over six years.

March 18 - The New York Times

Taking a hint from heightened interest in Brazil's <em>favelas</em>, a German developer plans to build 10 villas in a Rio de Janeiro slum, which he'll market as the new tourist hotspot.

March 18 - International Herald Tribune

The Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) and the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) are sparring over the size of the "train box" in the new Transbay Terminal. Streetsblog makes sense of the brouhaha.

March 18 - Streetsblog SF

The same judge who decided that banning outdoor ads is unconstitutional has rule that the city of Los Angeles acted unlawfully in denying an outdoor advertiser new permits. The city began trying to eradicate billboards and giant ads in 2002.

March 18 - Los Angeles Times

Square footage is dropping in new homes, leading many experts to argue that the new face of American homes will be smaller and more economically sustainable.

March 18 - USA Today