The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>Planners in Seattle want to add housing to Little Saigon, a neighborhood with a strong Vietnamese culture, without disrupting the district's character or displacing residents.</p>

July 15 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

BLOG POST

City cycling can be hectic. Let&#39;s be realistic: most American cities are not meant for cyclists. It would be great if they were, but for now, our city forms are primarily designed for the movement of cars. Because cities are made for cars, it&#39;s understandable that car drivers tend to disregard the fact that somebody might be riding a bike out there. (<a href="/interchange" target="_blank" title="Planetizen Interchange">Interchange</a> blogger <a href="/user/405" target="_blank" title="Planetizen Interchange blogger Mike Lydon">Mike Lydon</a> recently wrote an <a href="/node/33877" target="_blank" title="The Bicycle Network - by Mike Lydon - Planetizen Interchange">excellent piece about planning for bicycle networks</a>.) Until our urban forms and public policies encourage the use of roads by a variety of transportation types, the burden is on cyclists to assert their role in the transit jungle. Communication is key to achieving this goal. Safe cycling (and safe transportation in general) relies heavily on communication. Safe cyclists speak bike language -- a rudimentary system made up of three main components: the wave, the yell and the nod. <br />

July 14 - Nate Berg

<p>A "Black Hat security researcher" claims he has discovered security flaws in the FasTrak toll transponder used by drivers in California and Colorado. However, the story is quickly dismantled as "baloney" by a toll road industry insider.</p>

July 14 - Toll Roads News

<p>As the number of sustainable buildings increase rapidly, ecologically friendly designs are shedding an ugly past for a sleeker and more striking future.</p>

July 14 - The Christian Science Monitor

<p>New technologies promise to revolutionize the hunt for a parking spot in big cities like San Francisco. Donald Shoup is along for the ride.</p>

July 14 - The New York Times

<p>Palm Beach and Broward Counties in Florida are looking at a future of dwindling resources for road-building, and projecting the need for alternative transportation.</p>

July 14 - South Florida Sun-Sentinel

<p>The increase in the price of fuel encourages one St. Louis family to purchase a second home near work.</p>

July 14 - STLtoday

<p>New York City is considering a plan to institute a bike-sharing program in the city.</p>

July 14 - The New York Times

<p>Indianapolis has a growing problem with abandoned houses. To fight the blight, they're now selling the homes online.</p>

July 14 - The Indianapolis Star

<p>A proposal to annually burn tens of millions of car tires to produce electricity at a facility in Erie, Pennsylvania is raising concerns among environmentalists and regional residents over mercury and other emissions.</p>

July 14 - AlterNet

FEATURE

There is a glaring lack of attention in the presidential primaries to urban policy, says Randall Crane.

July 14 - Randall Crane

<p>Judith Warner reflects back on what made her purchase a Land Rover in the first place ('beating back middle age') and her ideas for what to do with it now that she can't afford to drive it ('in-law apartment').</p>

July 14 - The New York Times

<p>Globalization has spurned a renaissance in the formerly crime-ridden Colombian city of Medellin. But some worry that the city's improvements may only be temporary.</p>

July 13 - The Washington Post

<p>A jury has awarded a poor rural Ohio neighborhood populated mostly by African Americans nearly $11 million, having determined that racist motives lay behind the water authority's decades-long refusal to supply water to the community.</p>

July 13 - Associated Press

<p>The USDA is considering a plan to put conservation land back into agricultural production -- a move farmers are trumpeting, but environmentalists are opposing.</p>

July 13 - The Washington Post

<p>Artist Anish Kapoor, creator of the famous "mirrored jellybean" in Chicago's Millennium Park, is creating a new series of massive sculptures for five depressed cities in Yorkshire. Backers hope the art will transform the region.</p>

July 13 - The Guardian U.K.

<p>A portion of New York City's most storied thoroughfare is being transformed with a physically protected bicycle lane and added space for pedestrians, cafe tables and benches.</p>

July 13 - The New York Times

<p>'Fringe Benefits: Cosmopolitan Dynamics of a Multicultural City' is the name of an exhibit open now at the Design Exchange in Toronto. Urban designer Ian Chodikoff explains his inspiration for the show.</p>

July 12 - The Globe and Mail

<p>Belfast developers plan on turning a Victorian-era jail into a tourist attraction, hotel, and art gallery. Her Majesty’s Prison Belfast closed in 1996, and is a symbol of The Troubles, the long struggle in Northern Ireland for Irish independence.</p>

July 12 - Global Atlanta

<p>Business owners fear dedicated transit lane would discourage shopping along Telegraph Avenue, while proponents look to BRT as a cheap way to clear up traffic.</p>

July 12 - The San Francisco Chronicle