The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Miami’s housing stock can be characterized generally to encompass single family homes and condos. Between these two options, however, other choices are lacking.

April 6 - Global Site Plans - The Grid

FEATURE

Several trends are conspiring to challenge America's ability to house and care for its senior citizens. Utilizing successful examples, architect and planner Eric C.Y. Fang examines how the suburbs can be adapted to support an aging population.

April 5 - Eric C.Y. Fang

Ever wonder what downtown Boston looked like on the eve of the Civil War? This photograph taken from a hot air balloon by James Wallace Black is thought to be the oldest aerial photo still in existence. Google Earth eat your heart out.

April 5 - Smithsonian

ArtPlace, the creative placemaking collaboration, has announced its inaugural list of the top small town art scenes in the United States. The dozen communities selected for recognition include Crested Butte, CO, Vineyard Haven, MA, and Taos, NM.

April 5 - ArtPlace

John Metcalfe looks at the frightening incidents of violence being directed at bicyclists using Minneapolis' popular Midtown Greenway.

April 5 - The Atlantic Cities

The role of access to fresh food in contributing to people's eating habits has been at the heart of efforts to identify and eliminate 'food deserts.' However, a new study questions the connection between obesity and the food environment.

April 5 - Los Angeles Times

Mark Andrew Boyer looks at the work of San Francisco's "municipal cart auditors" a team of city employed trash diggers who scour the city's cans for scofflaw sorters as part of a broader effort to become 100-percent "waste-free" by 2020.

April 5 - The Atlantic Cities

Unbounded by budgetary concerns, lengthy approvals processes, or NIMBY neighbors, China is building 100 new airports over the next two years. Does their process offer any lessons for how to fix America's crumbling air infrastructure?

April 5 - The New York Times

For years, the Watts Towers have suffered from problems small and large: bits of decorative glass and pottery falling to the ground; cracks snaking their way through the structures and growing longer over time. A new effort aims for lasting fixes.

April 5 - Los Angeles Times

As the city's controversial mayor snickers at proposals for new funding sources for transit, Toronto is missing out on another opportunity to build a big-city mass transit system, says Marcus Gee. How much will it cost the city in the long run?

April 5 - The Globe and Mail

In this op-ed, Arthur B. Laffer and Stephen Moore analyze the recent Census findings showing renewed migration from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and Southwest. They note the movement is clearly from blue states to red, and explain why.

April 5 - The Wall Street Journal

With a footprint estimated as 2.8 million square feet, and a budget said to be approaching $5 billion, Apple's new corporate campus is certain to make a statement. But as investors grow restless over falling share prices, just what will it say?

April 5 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Glenn Fleishman profiles MapBox, whose 30 employees are taking on the big boys in the development of interactive street and satellite maps. The company is working with Charlie Loyd to develop "the most beautiful, clean map ever made."

April 4 - The Economist

Long rumored plans to merge L.A.'s Department of City Planning with Building and Safety to cut costs and streamline permitting are coming into focus, as the outgoing mayor tries to push through the reforms before he leaves office.

April 4 - Los Angeles Downtown News

BLOG POST

Opponents of high- and mid-rise development often use the term "vertical sprawl." But in fact there is little similarity between high-rise infill and suburban sprawl: the major arguments against one do not apply to the other.

April 4 - Michael Lewyn

To coincide with the release of a new book detailing the creation of Mies van der Rohe's renowned Seagram Building, Mark Lamster speak with its author Phyllis Lambert - one of the key figures in the building's development.

April 4 - The New York Times

A new survey has revealed that the housing bust has taken a toll on the fabled "American Dream," with the majority of respondents asserting that policies should be directed "to encourage rentals equally as much as home purchases."

April 4 - Los Angeles Times

It's not too early to think about "fixing the Highway Trust Fund", a prerequisite to renewing MAP-21 transportation legislation that expires Sept. 30, 2014. Rep. Peter DeFazio may have the fix in the form of an indexed gas tax - but which index?

April 4 - American Society Of Civil Engineers

Jane Bradley traces the rise and fall of Scotland-based RMJM. Since completing its crowning achievement, the new Scottish Parliament building, the firm has expanded and contracted, and been rescued from receivership. Can it ever succeed again?

April 4 - Scotsman.com

For far too long, the shaping of public spaces has been left to architects and urban planners, who plan from the top down. The most successful projects involve people directly in deciding how their public spaces will look, feel, and operate.

April 4 - Shelterforce Magazine