The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The Fight for $1 Homes

<p>A HUD plan that allows municipalities to buy up foreclosed homes for just $1 is causing controversy in Wayne County, Michigan, where cities and counties are fighting over who is best suited to take over abandoned homes.</p>

April 16 - The Detroit Free Press

Planning Cities In The Age Of Global Warming

<p>A recent conference hosted by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy focused on how planners around the world are designing urban areas that respond to the impacts of climate change.</p>

April 16 - MIT Technology Review

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Time for Change? Skip the Change, I’ll Take Dollars!

<p> <font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">I’ve been torn lately between two contradictory perspectives on the state of the country as it relates to providing transportation infrastructure and service.<span>

April 16 - Steven Polzin

Sustaining Our $1.2 Billion Daily Gasoline Habit

<p>Gas prices have risen dramatically and continue to rise, with oil topping $110 per barrel. How are we paying for it, and who benefits? The News Hour's Ray Suarez interviews oil expert Lisa Margonelli for answers.</p>

April 16 - PBS: The News Hour with Jim Lehrer

Los Angeles Taco Trucks in Trouble

<p>Mobile taco trucks in Los Angeles may face tougher fines for parking in any one place for too long if proposed restrictions are passed by the county.</p>

April 16 - The Los Angeles Times


The Most Bicycle Friendly City In America

<p>Two local transportation advocates shed light on the plans and policies that have made Portland, Oregon the bicycle capital of the U.S.</p>

April 16 - Democracy Now

A Final Plea For Transit In Southwest Michigan

<p>If local officials don't come together with a workable plan, Detroit may just blow its last chance to implement a regional transportation system.</p>

April 16 - The Detroit Free Press


Leasing Toll Roads: Learning From Indiana

<p>While experts now say that the lease term Indiana agreed to was too long, and the payment it received in return too small, so far all parties appear to be better off –- the road, the drivers, the toll takers, the Governor, and the state.</p>

April 15 - The New York Times

Youngstown Plans For A Smaller Future

<p>After years of decline, Youngstown Ohio has an aggressive plan to bulldoze abandoned properties and pare back on services and infrastructure.</p>

April 15 - CNN Money

Housing Bubble Goes Global

<p>Housing markets around the world are beginning to feel the effects of the American mortgage crisis.</p>

April 15 - International Herald Tribune

The Explosive Growth of Homestead, Florida

<p>Perhaps named as a self-fulfilling prophecy, the last seven years have brought unprecedented residential growth to Homestead, Florida. Commercial development is just trying to keep up.</p>

April 15 - The Miami Herald

Noise and the City

<p>Cairo, Egypt is becoming increasingly noisy.</p>

April 15 - The New York Times

El Paso On Fast Track to Transit

<p>Officials in El Paso, Texas have been working with state and federal officials on a plan to bring rapid transit to the city within three years.</p>

April 15 - El Paso Times

Let the Computer Do the Driving

<p>Avoiding traffic congestion may soon be as easy as surfing the web, thanks to new web software that maps out congestion and calculates the best and most efficient driving routes.</p>

April 15 - The New York Times

Flood Control Project On Death Bed

<p>An Army Corps of Engineers flood control project in south-central Mississippi is in danger of being vetoed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But supporters have not given up hope.</p>

April 15 - The New York Times

Beijing to Polluting Construction Industry: Stop

<p>In an effort to improve the city's air quality in time for this summer's Olympic Games, officials in Beijing are planning to halt all construction and other polluting processes for two months starting in mid-July.</p>

April 15 - The New York Times

Creating A New Vision For The Nation's Transportation System

<p>With Americans driving less for the first time ever, its time to create a new comprehensive plan for transportation in the United States.</p>

April 15 - Detriot Free Press

Will Americans Ever Embrace Congestion Pricing?

<p>Though the idea of congestion pricing has won over many planners and officials, as the failed proposal in New York shows, many members of the driving public are far more comfortable with sitting in traffic than paying tolls or riding transit.</p>

April 14 - The Washington Post

The Real Problem With Transit: Lack Of Customer Service

<p>Forget slogans and fancy trains. If transit agencies just focused on getting people where they need to go in a consistent, reliable (and preferably quicker) way, more people would abandon their cars.</p>

April 14 - The Toronto Star

A New Era Of Urban Parks?

<p>In response to the growing demand for urban greenspace, cities around the nation on working on plans for large new parks -- rivaling the urban park boom during the 19th or early 20th century.</p>

April 14 - USA Today

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