The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>Researchers at Virginia Tech are looking at ways to attract companies considering moving overseas to relocate to low-cost rural areas of the U.S. -- a concept dubbed "farmshoring".</p>

June 6 - Virginia Tech Office of Economic Development

<p>The primetime Fox television show "The OC" and MTV's "Laguna Beach" may have helped increased real estate prices in Orange County, California.</p>

June 6 - The Financial Times

<p>Brooklyn, New York, has a long and soiled history when it comes to fuel production. Now comes plans for two more plants, but so far they are welcomed by the city and surrounding neighbors.</p>

June 6 - The New York Times

BLOG POST

<p style="text-indent: 0.5in" class="MsoNormal">Although the latest immigration bill being debated upon in congress has attracted relatively little attention from planners, the planning implications of reforming or not reforming current immigration policy are huge.<span> </span>Immigration impacts labor markets, and thereby commuting patterns, transportation planning and economic development.<span> </span>Immigration swells the population of many cities and towns forcing planners to rethink their plans for housing, schools and other public services.<span> </span>Often overlooked, however, is f immigration’s impact on the planning process itself.</p>

June 6 - Lance Freeman

<p>Chicago officials are renewing an ordinance to discourage cyclists from riding on some of the city's sidewalks, while bike advocates argue the city isn't doing enough to make the streets safe for both pedestrians and bike riders.</p>

June 6 - Chicago Sun-Times

<p>Poor federal emergency planning; still-shattered public infrastructure; an over-commitment of National Guard equipment in Iraq; and an inadequately repaired levee system are all leaving New Orleans dangerously vulnerable to new storms.</p>

June 5 - Center for American Progress

<p>As of late, how to best operate and maintain Pennsylvania's Turnpike has become a hot issue among the state's politicians. Will they ever agree on a solution?</p>

June 5 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

<p>A recent column in the Washington Post criticizes the city's crackdown on jaywalking, arguing that it only serves to discourage pedestrians.</p>

June 5 - The Washington Post

<p>Well intentioned but loose zoning regulations are threatening the character some of the city's historic neighborhoods.</p>

June 5 - The Charlotte Observer

<p>The internet firm has launched new features making it easier for users to learn about transit options when getting directions.</p>

June 5 - WorldChanging

<p>A joint venture between a prominent African-American church and a private developer is trying to breath new life into Atlanta's Auburn Avenue.</p>

June 5 - International Herald Tribune

<p>While many smart growth advocates embrace the idea of allowing congestion to worsen to encourage the public to drive less, a recent opinion column argues the strategy can only work if good alternatives to driving exist.</p>

June 5 - Atlanta Journal Constitution

<p>Americans generally see bigger as better, and a desire for status combined with local government's desire to attract high-income residents often drives the development of large homes on large lots.</p>

June 5 - The Environmental Report

<p>With high housing costs driving families out of San Francisco, the city's schools are trying innovative ways to improve education and attract the dwindling number of students.</p>

June 5 - The San Francisco Chronicle

<p>If bicyclists were allotted pathways just as pedestrians are, then biking in U.S. cities could become as viable a mode of transportation as it is in Europe.</p>

June 5 - Crosscut Seattle

<p>Despite enjoying an unprecedented boom in residential construction, The City of Miami is failing to provide adequate affordable housing units to its most needy citizens.</p>

June 5 - The Miami Herald

BLOG POST

The protesters at Chicago’s Grant Park in 1968 might have been talking about Denver’s multi-billion dollar FasTracks rail expansion while they chanted “the whole world is watching.” With 50+ new transit stations the Denver region has an opportunity no modern American city has been able to realize – to build a regional rail network and link it with land use planning to accommodate growth without diminishing livability. <br /><br />Part of the conversation in Denver is will FasTracks help the region’s competitiveness and capture more growth than it would otherwise? Or is the best planners can do is to use FasTracks as a tool to grow better by reshaping the growth that is already coming? <br />

June 5 - G.B. Arrington

<p>The author of one of the most controversial book of the 1960s, considered to be the mother of the modern environmental movement, was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.</p>

June 4 - Democracy Now!

<p>Should urban planners take their cues from architects who prefer central control or economists who prefer free markets?</p>

June 4 - Houston Strategies

<p>Do great civic spaces evolve or can they be invented? A look at the impact of "Disney-esque' developer Rick Caruso, the creator of The Grove, a successful retail complex in Los Angeles.</p>

June 4 - The Los Angeles Times