The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Economic Competitiveness of the Midwest Relies on Immigration Reform

Cities like St. Louis, where the 44,000 native-born Americans that left in the last decade have been replaced by 31,000 immigrants, offer a case study for why comprehensive immigration reform has a good chance of passing in divided Washington.

April 9 - The Financial Times

Placemaking Confronts Entertainment Initiative in a Downtown L.A. Alleyway

A quaint downtown L.A. alleyway celebrated for its Old World charm has been cleared of its outdoor dining facilities to ease access to a rehabilitated theater's loading dock. Can an equitable compromise be found?

April 8 - Los Angeles Times

Minneapolis Stone Arch Bridge

America's Safest Cities

Gallup has published the results of its survey of the cities deemed safest by their residents. The results closely track the FBI's violent crime rates.

April 8 - Gallup Wellbeing

The Next Step in Downtown Pittsburgh's Resurgence: Build More Parking?

With an approaching mayoral transition, Mark Belko looks at what Pittsburgh's next leader will need to focus on to keep downtown's rejuvenation rolling. Should building more parking be at the top of the list?

April 8 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Inequality Finds a Home in the Suburbs

Through the lens of the Los Angeles region, Becky M. Nicolaides and Andrew Wiese examine how America's suburbs sustain and reinforce inequality.

April 8 - The New York Times


The Paradox of the EPA's Clean Fuel Rules

The EPA's newly proposed rules to reduce sulfur in gasoline may have the perverse effect of making alternative vehicles, that is, those that don't run on gasoline, less competitive with conventional vehicles and ensure that we remain addicted to oil.

April 8 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

Transformation of D.C. Area Commute On Track for This Year

With construction of the D.C. subway system's newest extension 90 percent complete, the Silver Line is set to transform the region's transportation patterns, and Northern Virginia's in particular.

April 8 - The Washington Post


3D Printing

How Will 3D Printing Change the World's Cities?

Shrinking ports, less noxious trucks on our roads, and more self-sufficient towns. Neal Peirce describes the changes that 3D printing may bring to our lives. Will it be comparable to "the steam engine, the light bulb, atomic energy, the microchip?"

April 8 - Citiwire.net

Why We Should Forget That Fukushima Ever Happened

Nuclear power has saved 370 times more lives than it has ended in the last four decades, says a NASA paper. Despite the horrors of Japan's ongoing nuclear disaster, we'll need to rely on nuclear power for the sake of the environment and human health.

April 8 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Does Walkability Equal Walking?

Using data from the Women’s Health Initiative, a new study reveals that a walkable environment may not be enough to get people to walk more.

April 8 - KPLU

Interest in City-Center Living a Key to Integrating Cape Town

Twenty years after the end of apartheid in South Africa, Cape Town is preparing to become World Design Capital. Zoe Dare Hall looks at the coastal city's burgeoning real estate market, which reflects two decades of integrative planning.

April 8 - Financial Times

San Diego Rail

San Diego's Omission from High-Speed Rail: Customary Curse or Blessing in Disguise?

Is California's High-Speed Rail (HSR) a "boondoggle" for the state, as its critics assert, or just a boondoggle for omitted cities? How should such cities deal with omission from HSR? San Diego is a case in point.

April 7 - UrbDeZine.com

Cars are the Cholesterol of Buenos Aires’ Veins

The problem of increasing congestion is plaguing the development of the city of Buenos Aires, not to mention the deleterious effects on residents' quality of life.

April 7 - Global Site Plans - The Grid

Illicit Intervention Creates Protected Bike Lane in Seattle

In what is certainly one of the most polite forms of civil disobedience we've ever encountered, a small group of guerrilla urbanists installed bike lane protectors along a Seattle street one recent night. They kindly made them easy to remove.

April 7 - Seattle Bike Blog

How a 75-year-old Courthouse Became the GSA's Paragon of Sustainability

Chris Bentley explains how San Antonio's Beaux Arts federal courthouse became an unlikely paragon of the GSA's sustainability efforts while balancing a sensitive historic renovation.

April 7 - The Architect's Newspaper

Denise Scott Brown's Pritzker Snub Becomes News Again, More than 20 Years Later

A recent interview with the acclaimed designer and theorist, and an online petition, have reignited the debate over whether Denise Scott Brown deserved to be awarded the Pritzker Prize along with her long-time collaborator Robert Venturi.

April 7 - ArchDaily

Arkansas Oil Pipeline Spill: A Warm-Up for Keystone XL?

The NewsHour's Judy Woodruff asks pointed questions to Anthony Swift, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Andy Black, president of the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, about the latest spill involving oil sands crude. The two agree on little.

April 6 - PBS NewsHour

In Rethinking Shared Spaces, Sidewalks Take Center Stage

Joe Nickol pens a paean to the often overlooked sidewalk: "our neighborhood's breadwinner, bringing vitality, safety, and economy."

April 6 - Sustainable Cities Collective

In SoMA District, can S.F. Move Beyond Petty Politics to Think Big About its Future?

As the "new tech capital of the world," San Francisco's SoMA district is facing development pressures that challenge the city's often petty planning process, while providing an opportunity to reconsider what the city could become.

April 6 - Huff Post

D.C.'s Displacement Woes Spread to the Suburbs

D.C.'s decade of prosperity and growth has been accompanied by a wave of development and displacement that is now threatening to submerge its inner-ring suburbs. Robert McCartney examines the consequences.

April 6 - The Washington Post

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