The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<em>Business Insider</em> has compiled a list of the "31 fastest growing cities on the planet." Cities in China and Africa we're well represented, with only two cities outside of those areas cracking the list.

October 22 - Business Insider

Last week the San Francisco Planning Commission gave final approval for the 1,070-foot Transbay Transit Center tower, reports Mike Billings.

October 22 - The San Francisco Examiner

After months of development, a group of Code for America fellows has unveiled a new web application that seeks to assist communities in identifying and cleaning up New Orleans's blighted properties, reports Emily Badger.

October 22 - Fast Company Co.Exist

The speedometer on the Chicago to St. Louis train hit 110 mph - and stayed there for five minutes, but it was enough to elevate the spirits of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the other dignitaries on-board. Normal speeds top out at 79 mph.

October 22 - The Huffington Post

Russian oligarchs and Brazilian expats may be its most prominent residents, but Miami does have a middle-class. But a new study shows they aren't exactly thriving. In fact, Miami is the toughest city in the nation to be a middle-class resident.

October 22 - New Times Miami Blog

Lackluster sales in Pittsburgh's luxury condominium market haven't dissuaded developers from betting on the continued demand for residences in the city's downtown. A 95 percent occupancy rate in rental buildings is driving apartment construction.

October 22 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Recent headlines over the fight to protect a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for his son in Phoenix touch upon the city's larger struggle to protect its dwindling cache of historic buildings, reports Fernanda Santos.

October 22 - The New York Times

Does density cause higher housing prices? Can the private market supply low-income housing? What will it take to maintain housing affordability in successful, growing cities? Dan Bertolet seeks an answer to these questions in a piece for Citytank.

October 22 - Citytank

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal"> <a href="http://www.dot.gov/map21">Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21)</a>, the new U.S. federal transportation law, has the following main goals: </p> <ol style="margin-top: 0cm"> <li class="MsoNormal">Safety</li> <li class="MsoNormal">Infrastructure condition</li> <li class="MsoNormal">Congestion reduction</li> <li class="MsoNormal">System reliability</li> <li class="MsoNormal">Freight movement and economic vitality</li> <li class="MsoNormal">Environmental sustainability</li> <li class="MsoNormal">Reduced project delivery delays</li> </ol> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp; </p>

October 21 - Todd Litman

Katie Pearce discusses the surprising findings of a new study from the Center for Housing Policy and the Center for Neighborhood Technology that evaluates why it can be more affordable to live in an “expensive” city.

October 21 - Streetsblog D.C.

To address the growing linguistic diversity in urban areas, the fall issue of the journal Current Issues in Language Planning is devoted to exploring social equity in "urban multilingual ecosystems." [Login required]

October 21 - Current Issues in Language Planning

With the nation's first, broad application of cap & trade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions set to begin on January 1, <em>The New York Times</em>' environmental reporter Felicity Barringer writes about the key role of carbon offsets.

October 21 - The New York Times - Environment

An informative, detailed, and attractive infographic from the vacation rental website HouseTrip compares the environmental credentials of London, New York, Vancouver, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Stockholm, across a range of categories.

October 21 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Close to twenty five years after Denver debated the future of its historic, but blighted, Lower Downtown district, the city is reaping the benefits of its decision to preserve the “region’s largest collection of urban historic buildings.”

October 21 - Urban Land Magazine

BLOG POST

If you are applying to graduate school in planning, how much do GREs matter? Like many things in planning the answer varies with the person and program. Below I provide some general advice.

October 20 - Ann Forsyth

Taking advantage of low borrowing costs, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced this week that New York City will spend up to $1 billion on “critical” infrastructure, including bridges, roads, schools and libraries over the next 20 months.

October 20 - Bloomberg

The <em>Economist</em> examines how London's inner city neighborhoods are well past an inflection point in crime rates. In many cases inner city neighborhoods are now safer than suburban neighborhoods and the trend is set to continue.

October 20 - The Economist

Like its beloved baseball team, downtown Detroit is on an upswing, writes Bill Morris. The area's rise as a desirable neighborhood can be attributed in no small part to new sports facilities located in close proximity.

October 20 - The New York Times

Is waste disposal a local or regional issue? A new CA law written by a S.F. lawmaker nullifies a voter-approved Solano County measure that limits the amount of outside garbage their landfill can accept. It is being challenged by environmental groups.

October 20 - The Wall Street Journal - San Francisco Bay Area

In a provocative essay, Mitchell Sutika Sipus examines the dangers of subscribing to conventions such as style or planning trends, and argues why planners must forgo ideologies to create better solutions for community problems.

October 20 - Humanitarian Space