The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

This column looks at the NIMBY-minded attitude of one couple that has been fighting to prevent a bus line from coming into their neighborhood.

October 21 - The Toronto Star

Builders are creating online educational programs to help potential buyers clean up their credit and obtain loans.

October 21 - The Wall St. Journal

China's government has announced major changes in property rights for farmers, giving them the ability to 'lease, exchange, or swap' their plots.

October 21 - The New York Times

Sacramento Bee columnist Daniel Weintraub evaluates the pros and cons of California's $10 billion High Speed Rail Proposition 1A. With state revenues are already expected to be over $10 billion short than projected, he thinks it is a risky measure.

October 21 - The Sacramento Bee

Bernt Wahl is a pioneer of neighborhood mapping techniques. This profile in <em>Wired</em> profiles this growing industry, and Wahl's struggles with intellectual property. Who owns your neighborhood?

October 20 - Wired

Joel Kotkin thinks that the effects of the financial crisis may not be all bad, and may even encourage a new focus on family and community ties.

October 20 - newgeography

In this election, Scranton has come to symbolize blue-collar America, with visits by all four national candidates, parodied on Saturday Night Live, as well as the scene of NBC’s The Office. But the city is in a turnaround after decades of decline.

October 20 - The Wall Street Journal

Chris Turner looks at successful car-free pedestrianization and bicycle planning in Copenhagen and Melbourne and wonders why Canada's sprawling, frigid cities can't adopt these ideas as well.

October 20 - Globe & Mail

Joseph Nocera reports on a proposal to rescue homeowners that lets people live in their homes, and doesn't require any government money.

October 20 - AlterNet

Home prices are falling across the country, but there are signs that they're not done falling yet.

October 20 - The New York Times

Roy Gothie, a planner for the Maryland State Highway Administration, argues that 'only a societal decision to redefine an individual's rights regarding property can restore [Chesapeake Bay].'

October 20 - Baltimore Sun

In the mid-1900s architect Le Corbusier designed a grand sports complex for Baghdad as part of the city's bid for the 1960 Olympics. That bid failed and the project was never built. Now, original drawings and designs are on display.

October 20 - Building Design

The Environmental Protection Agency has not done enough to control pollution from stormwater runoff in urban areas, according to a report from the National Academy of Sciences.

October 20 - Associated Press

The worldwide credit crisis will affect the ability of the developed world to tackle climate change. Businesses in Europe and U.S. are asking for delays in meeting emission reductions mandates notwithstanding the drop in oil prices.

October 20 - Wall Street Journal

FEATURE

Martin H. Krieger compares the lack of oversight involved in today's financial crisis with the transparency and responsibility involved in making bridges.

October 20 - Martin H. Krieger

Bill Fulton thinks so, calling them to task for speaking out against density in Orange County when, he says, the market demand is evident.

October 19 - California Planning & Development Report

Two weeks after Congress passed HR 2095, Bush signed this bill to double Amtrak funding and mandate safety technology to prevent Metrolink-like crashes. It may be a precursor to greatly expanded transit spending in the next administration.

October 19 - Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin

Faith Cable reports on the CEU's 3rd annual conference, held in Oslo, Norway, which addressed cities and their ability to address climate change through urban design.

October 19 - WorldChanging

New Urban News reports that even as housing costs plummet and construction is halted on single-family homes across the country, traditional neighborhood developments and TODs are thriving.

October 19 - New Urban News

Patrick Smith believes that Senegal's ambitious new airport is not only unnecessary, but in light of the country's massive poverty and environmental problems, actually "obscene."

October 19 - Salon.com