The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

When money ran out nearly 80 years ago, this almost-complete subway was abandoned. Today it is a legend.

June 9 - National Public Radio

BLOG POST

<a href="http://www.visitorville.com/">VisitorVille</a> is a website log analysis program that uses an <a href="http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,63767,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1">graphical urban metaphor</a> to visualize website traffic flow.<br /> <img src="http://www.planetizen.com/tech/files//200406609-visitorville.jpg" alt="VisitorVille Screenshot" align="right" /><br /> <blockquote>"A company's entire Web presence is seen as an urban or suburban neighborhood, with each individual Web page presented as a building. The more visitors on a site, the taller the buildings, and the brighter the lights on each floor...each visitor is represented by a small avatar that, when clicked, presents a passport that offers several pieces of information about the user, such as her or his IP address, where that person came from and more. Avatars from dot-com domains wear a suit. Those from dot-edu domains dress as students."</blockquote>

June 9 - Abhijeet Chavan

Louisiana's $14-billion effort to save the state's coast from erosion is in jeopardy after the White House sets aside an engineering study.

June 9 - The Los Angeles Times

In a victory for the Bush administration, thousands of vehicles from Mexico can now ply America's highways without emission controls. A previously-commissioned air-impact study was ruled "legally pointless" and abandoned.

June 9 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Fess Parker, TV's 'Davy Crockett,' and the Chumash Indians hope to turn Santa Ynez into a vacation paradise. Locals fear a loss of community as the Chumash can ignore zoning through federal law.

June 9 - Newsday

Food and fun promote alternatives to one car, one person.

June 9 - Michigan Land Use Institute

Graduate planning programs across the nation are in danger of being cut to save funding.

June 9 - Planning Magazine

According to a new study, nearly half of households at 50% the federal poverty level reported skipping food or medicine just to pay for their residential energy consumption.

June 9 - Yahoo! Newswire

Using a grant from Rehabilitation Through Photography, a year-long elective at one New York City school concentrated on redeveloping 5.5 acres of Flushing, Queens.

June 9 - Newsday

BLOG POST

The US Environmetal Protection Agency has launched their daily <a href="http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/uvindex.html">Ultra Violet Index</a> website, where you can search for your zip code's daily UV Index rating.<br /> <br /> Tomorrow's Los Angeles UV Index rating is 9: "Try to avoid the sun between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Otherwise, seek shade, cover up, wear a hat and sunglasses, and use sunscreen. " <br /> <br /> The UV Index is computed using forecasted ozone levels, a computer model that relates ozone levels to UV incidence (incoming radiation level) on the ground, forecasted cloud amounts, and the elevation of the forecast cities.

June 8 - Chris Steins

Peter E. Walker is selected for the American Society of Landscape Architects's highest honor. Urban Land Institute will receive the Landscape Architecture Medal of Excellence.

June 8 - American Society Of Landscape Architects

A success story in an old Navy town.

June 8 - Planning Magazine

Six Virginia newspapers jointly explore the state's roads in a three-part series.

June 8 - Richmond Times-Dispatch

BLOG POST

The <a href="http://www.grants.gov/">Grants.gov</a> initiative is seen as a model e-government project but it has had <br /> <a href="http://www.gcn.com/23_13/news/26113-1.html">trouble attracting users</a> according to an article in Government Computer News. The website enables citizens to apply for grants online. <br /> <br /> <img src="http://www.planetizen.com/tech/files//20040608-grantsgov_01.gif" alt="Grants.gov Logo" align="right" width="200" height="75" /><br /> <blockquote>"[The Office of Management and Budget] officials are working to define utilization -- how e-government projects are used after they’ve been fully implemented -- and plan how the projects will reach the marks they set. Project managers must decide who their customers are and how they’ll measure use of the service...<br /> <br /> [Officials] have identified several obstacles to finding users: informing them about the portal, making it easy for them to use and getting other agencies to participate....<br /> </blockquote>

June 8 - Abhijeet Chavan

Satellite photos from southern Spain appear to match the dimensions of the not-so-mythical city of Atlantis.

June 8 - BBC News

Federal funds for farmland preservation go untouched while development continues to transform rural areas.

June 8 - The Indianapolis Star

Californai legislators are seeking to limit the too-often abused power of homeowners associations to seize properties without going to court.

June 8 - The Los Angeles Times

Miami's split personality points to an underlying problem.

June 8 - The Brookings Institution

Boston has all of the right ingredients to become on of the most rewarding places on earth to live -- if the city can get over it's 'assumed superiority'.

June 8 - The Boston Foundation

Green architecture is catching on in America.

June 8 - The San Diego Union-Tribune