The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Solar Home Overshadowed by New Construction: Is There a 'Right to Light'?

<p>Planners in Saskatchewan, Canada encouraged the Schewes to build solar panels on their roof and go off the grid. Then they okayed a home next door that overshadowed the Schewes. Do homeowners have a 'right to light'?</p>

June 14 - Canwest News Service

Oklahoma's Car Culture Forced to Adapt

<p>Oklahoma City residents used to 70-mile commutes are turning to carpooling as gas hovers at $4 a gallon. But with the largest land area of any U.S. city, providing public transit remains a major challenge.</p>

June 14 - CNNMoney.com

Infrastructure Deficit Called a 'Quiet Collapse of Prosperity'

<p>Big city mayors testifying before a Senate committee are asking for more federal infrastructure investments, but admitted that even the $1.6 trillion estimated by the American Society of Engineers wouldn't be enough.</p>

June 14 - CNN

Brits Say US Cities Should Look To UK's Successes

<p>Dermot Finch of the Centre for Cities, an independent research group, says that the U.S. could learn a lot from the U.K.'s urban renaissance.</p>

June 14 - BBC News

Friday Funny: Creepy Mansions Not Exempt From Housing Market Slump

<p>The recent housing slump is now showing its face in the "creepy mansion" market, where sales have plummeted, according to this article from <em>The Onion</em>.</p>

June 13 - The Onion


Zurich, Geneva and Vienna: Best Quality of Life?

<p>Central European cities lead the world in this assessment of 'quality of living.' The survey is oriented towards companies who could locate workers in those countries and need to calculate 'hardship allowances.'</p>

June 13 - Citymayors.com

Ambitious City Center Plan Moves Forward

<p>Despite the economic downturn, city officials in Spokane Valley, WA move forward with a plan to build something the city has always lacked: a true city center.</p>

June 13 - Spokane Journal of Business


A Billion Dollars in Injuries Makes Transit Pricey

<p>Riders of the New York MTA hit the transit agency with $1.2 billion in injury and damaged property claims, seriously impacting the affordability of transit.</p>

June 13 - Reuters

Tornado Clears Way for LEED Platinum Building

<p>The 5-4-7 Arts Center in Greensburg, Kansas gets a LEED platinum designation- evidence that the town, which was 95% destroyed by a tornado in May, 2006, is making good on its sustainable rebuilding plan.</p>

June 13 - Kiowa County Singnal

Church Vs. Casino

<p>It's ethics vs. economics in a debate over a proposed casino in Stranraer, Scotland.</p>

June 13 - BBC News

Golf Carts on Main Street

<p>Soaring fuel costs are seeing more people turning to non-conforming vehicles, such as golf carts. But studies show that they are a risky mode of transportation.</p>

June 13 - The Globe & Mail

'EcoDensity' Comes Through in Vancouver

<p>A major rezoning plan has been approved in Vancouver, including the toughest environmental standards in North America.</p>

June 13 - The Vancouver Sun

British Intelligence Tells Planners to Keep Plans Secret

<p>MI5 has requested that planners and architects keep some details of building designs top secret as part of the fight against terrorism.</p>

June 13 - The Architect's Journal

Controversial Public Art Piece Given the Boot

<p>Vancouverites send a sculpture packing, stirring up a debate over the role of public art.</p>

June 13 - The Canadian Press

'Takings' Case Challenges Govt. Rights Over Federal Lands

<p>A case over land rights in the West going back decades has been awarded to the estate of a deceased property rights activist, who contended that the Forest Service deprived his ranch of water.</p>

June 12 - Yahoo News

Google Maps, Keep Out

<p>North Oaks, Minnesota is one of a handful of towns pushing back on Google, claiming that their Street View feature is a violation of privacy.</p>

June 12 - Star Tribune, Minneapolis-St. Paul

Municipal WiFi: Boon or Boondoggle?

<p>Santa Monica, CA is succeeding where other larger cities have failed, creating a public WiFi system that actually makes money.</p>

June 12 - Marketplace

The Best Small Town You've Never Heard Of

<p>Exeter, California, may lie off the beaten path and be little-known outside the southern San Joaquin Valley. But its thriving, spotless downtown would be the envy of most cities.</p>

June 12 - California Planning & Development Report

The Sudden Death Of The SUV

<p>Gas-guzzling SUVs no longer rule the U.S. auto market.</p>

June 12 - Wired Autopia

'Tele-Nurses' Save Precious Bucks on Ambulances

<p>Instead of sending an ambulance every time someone calls 9-1-1, the Houston City Council voted to contract with a telephone nursing service for non-emergencies.</p>

June 12 - The Houston Chronicle

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