The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>Japanese architects are pioneering design and building techniques that make the most of urban space, offering an affordable way to live in expensive metropolises.</p>

March 22 - WorldChanging

BLOG POST

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">In spite of my sense that we are heading pell mell into the gloom of global warming, catastrophic conflict and hopeless mediocrity, I’ve noticed a hopeful trend. Beauty and happiness have been rehabilitated from irrelevant to necessary.<span>  </span>It may not be an avalanche, but proponents are showing up in unusual places: a book by an environmental conservationist, another by an historian philosopher, and a <em>Mother Jones</em> article about the economy.<span>  </span>Can this portend a trend? </font></p>

March 22 - Barbara Knecht

<p>UCLA Professor and author of <em>The High Cost of Free Parking</em> visits New York City to preach the gospel of sound parking pricing policies.</p>

March 22 - Streetsblog

<p>Vancouver is looking to redevelop its oldest public housing project into a mixed-use and mixed-income housing development, with at least six times its current density. City officials hope it will be a profitable example for the rest of the province.</p>

March 22 - The Vancouver Sun

<p>Open space in Flathead County, Montana, has been steadily decreasing for years, and a recently approved growth policy emphasizes development and the economic benefits that follow rather than farmland preservation.</p>

March 22 - The Missoulian

<p>Newly announced plans by the government to create a Canadian National Trust dismays leaders of the Canadian Heritage Foundation, who wonder if they are being replaced over political differences.</p>

March 22 - INTBAU News

<p>At a recent ULI Conference, local and national experts discussed housing trends in fast-growing Boise Metro area, and urged developers to build more low-cost homes.</p>

March 22 - The (Boise) Idaho Statesman

BLOG POST

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">As I said in my last posting, the main, if not the only, topic of discussion in planning circles in New Orleans these days is recovery planning from Hurricane Katrina.<span> </span>A year and a half after the storm, we are getting close to having a recovery plan.<span> </span>In late January the Citywide Strategic Recovery and Rebuilding Plan, otherwise known as the “Unified New Orleans Plan” (UNOP), was presented to the New Orleans City Planning Commission (CPC), of which I am the Chair. The CPC has held several public hearings on the plan and we have at least one more scheduled.</font></p>

March 22 - Anonymous

<p>Census data indicates slow growth or decline in suburban population, but some local officials disagree.</p>

March 22 - The Washington Post

<p>One of the designers behind Mockingbird Station in Dallas, Texas, one of the first TODs in the country, talks about the recipe for a successful transit-oriented development.</p>

March 22 - Multi-Housing News

<p>A recent article urges New Mexicans to support the idea of permanent housing linked to services as a solution to homelessness -- citing the cost savings and demonstrated success of such facilities.</p>

March 22 - The Albuquerque Tribune

<p>Developers in Ozark, Illinois have incorporated a historic cemetery into a downtown revitalization project, hoping to create usable open space for the community.</p>

March 22 - Springfield News-Leader

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal">As the current fascination with all things green grows with leaps and bounds, the question arises – are there any limits to what can be green? </p>

March 21 - Walker Wells

<p>With new high-rise condos and even a New Urbanist community designed by Duany Plater-Zyberk, Galveston Island is capitalizing on its proximity to Houston as it attracts second home seekers and full-time residents alike.</p>

March 21 - The New York Times

<p>One blogger wonders if parking meters would help solve the morning and afternoon traffic jams by discouraging parents from driving their kids to school -- all the while lowering emissions and raising revenue for public education.</p>

March 21 - AboutMyPlanet.com

<p>With high amounts of truck traffic congesting freeways near the county's busy ports, County officials in L.A. are considering creating an 'inland port', where goods travel from the port by rail to be picked up by trucks far from the port complex.</p>

March 21 - The Daily Breeze

<p>The city's efforts at urban renewal has sparked a wave of new downtown residents along sophisticated restaurants to feed them.</p>

March 21 - The Boston Globe

<p>The city is responding to a new parking survey by adding uniform public parking signage and revising its parking structure zoning.</p>

March 21 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

<p>The current strategy of encouraging traffic congestion and focusing on transit doesn't align with the majority of American's preferences. Instead of continuing to follow failed policy, planners should start using new solutions to increase capacity.</p>

March 21 - Reason Online

<p>The success of Oregon's communities in stopping sprawl and preserving farmland demonstrate that its model of statewide and regional planning is worth replicating.</p>

March 21 - New West