The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

This piece ponders whether slum tourism in places like Dharavi and the favelas of Brazil is a valid form of cultural exchange or merely voyeuristic exploitation?

February 28 - National Geographic Traveler

This brief from the <em>New York Times</em> outlines how federal budget money will be used by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

February 28 - The New York Times

At Yale, a modernist landmark is preserved and revitalized. Ada Louise Huxtable looks at the challenges in updating the harshness of brutalist architecture.

February 27 - The Wall St. Journal

Edmonton Alberta is planning to go from a "somewhat bike friendly city to a very bike friendly city." But can it afford it during a recession?

February 27 - CBC

A mapping project has laid out a blueprint for the location of new green energy sites in British Columbia. Officials are hoping it will help guide the province towards more sustainable growth, but others worry it will encourage sprawl.

February 27 - The Tyee

Mayor Bloomberg and Janette Sadik-Khan have unveiled plans to turn a large segment of midtown into a pedestrian-only thoroughfare. The bold move is being applauded by livable street advocates across the United States.

February 27 - Streetsblog

Ex-assemblyman Bill Maze is backing a plan to divide California in two, separating conservative Central California from the liberal coast. This is the 27th attempt on record to divide the state.

February 27 - The Sacramento Bee

Sightline's Clark Williams-Derry looks at low gas prices, a down economy, and vehicle-miles-traveled, noting that the precipitous declines in VMT have halted, and suspects it may plateau.

February 27 - WorldChanging

Starting with a tony 5-floor, 7,500 square foot townhouse on the Upper East Side, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has quietly bought 4 of the 6 neighboring townhouse apartments and combined them into what is now a 12,500 square foot mansion.

February 27 - New York Times

Wyoming Valley Mall in Wilkes-Barre, PA is fighting to stay relevant to shoppers by bringing in local retailers, updating the design with an $8 million makeover, and bringing in more restaurants and theaters.

February 27 - The Wall St. Journal

This piece from <em>Reason</em> looks at a land dispute in Colorado between ranchers and the U.S. Army, which wants to add more than 400,000 acres to a 245,000 acre training and testing site.

February 27 - Reason

Major office and retail projects are adding new life to Cape Town's central business district. Though much investment centers around South Africa's 2010 World Cup, many expect the CBD investments to continue for years.

February 27 - iAfrica

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced plans to close off parts of Broadway in Manhattan to car traffic. The city will experiment with the closing as early as May, creating a large pedestrian zone near Times Square.

February 26 - The New York Times

A local TV host will be one of the first to take advantage of Vancouver's new 'laneway housing' pilot project (allowing 'granny units' in backyards of traditional city neighborhoods). The project is facing some controversy.

February 26 - The Vancouver Courier

Some organizations believe they hold the key to fighting poverty--economic development in the inner cities, which will in turn bring in private investment. But others maintain that both are hard to come by simultaneously.

February 26 - Miller-McCune

BLOG POST

<p> Community Development Work Avoidance </p> <p> Local government across the nation is knee deep in the work of figuring how to do with less.  No community is immune from the challenges posed by reduced sales and property tax revenue and the constant if not increasing demand for services.  Invariably, and appropriately, locating the proper balance between the two becomes a matter of setting priorities.  And to do that, criteria are needed to rationalize why one municipal activity should be funded, but not another.  It was ever thus, of course.

February 26 - Charles Buki

The American Trucking Associations is preparing to focus their upcoming annual meeting on advocacy, promoting their agenda on the TEA-21 Transportation Reauthorization bill to Congress and the Obama administration.

February 26 - Transport Topics Online

Although denser is inherently greener, cities whose populations boom have their own set of challenges regarding sustainability. According to this article, achieving a balance between urban and rural growth is the most sustainable way to go.

February 26 - Crosscut

BLOG POST

<p> On this week&#39;s <a href="http://www.kunstlercast.com/">KunstlerCast</a> (James Howard Kunstler&#39;s podcast, with host Duncan Crary), you can hear me leaving a comment. I just listened to the episode, and I sound like I took a shot of codeine cough syrup before recording it. I think the point is relevant enough to reiterate in the safety of print. </p>

February 26 - Tim Halbur

Transportation reporter Tom Belden of the Philadelphia Daily ponders how and where the $8 billion in stimulus funds allotted to high-speed rail should be spent, referencing a report by the Progressive Policy Institute.

February 26 - Philadelphia Daily