The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

To find Oregon's first energy-neutral building, you'll have to venture 45 minutes outside progressive Portland to the Willamette Valley town of Newberg. There you'll find a first step in an effort to change our physical and cultural environments.

July 24 - Fast Company

As you roast in the record summer heat, here's hoping that Henry Grabar's slide show of improvised urban beaches from across the globe gets you motivated to create one in your city. Hop to it, global warming isn't going away any time soon!

July 24 - The Atlantic Cities

As shifting demographics and the Great Recession increase the functional demands on the typical suburban single-family home, outdated zoning laws are preventing the economical use of underused space, writes S. Mitra Kalita.

July 24 - The Wall Street Journal

With many of America's largest metros experiencing robust growth, Michael Sauter, Alexander Hess and Elisabeth Uible of <em>24/7 Wall St.</em> have compiled a list of the fastest growing cities in the country.

July 24 - NBC News

NPR interviews technology historian Peter Norton, D.C. Planning Director Harriet Tregoning, and motorists on D.C. streets who resent exclusive bus lanes, parking tickets, red light cameras, and parklets usurping parking spaces.

July 24 - NPR

Declining state aid, hobbled endowments, and rising debt are hurting the balance sheets of colleges across America. Unfortunately the economies of their surrounding towns, which rely on schools for jobs, customers, and more, are far from immune.

July 24 - The Wall Street Journal

As Virginia drafts new rules to govern the sale of naming rights to its highways, interchanges, and bridges, public officials want to ensure that their new "marketing technology" provides more than just a sign on the road, reports Liz Essley.

July 23 - The Examiner

Kelly Sinoski and Michael Vinkin Lee detail the strategies identified in Vancouver's new plan to deal with expected increases in the effects of climate change, from street flooding and damaged forests to heat-related illnesses.

July 23 - The Vancouver Sun

Eric Jaffe discusses the importance of providing showers and changing facilities at workplaces - the "hidden factor" in encouraging bike commuting - as revealed in the findings of a new study.

July 23 - The Atlantic Cities

When California planned to close 70 parks this month to save $22 million, donors sprang into action to help keep them open. It turns out they needn't have, as last week it was revealed the CA Dept. of Parks and Recreation stashed away $54 million.

July 23 - Los Angeles Times

A recently released Amtrak plan doesn't envision high-speed rail servicing the Northeast Corridor until 2040. Paul Nussbaum looks at whether an incremental approach might bring increased speed and amenities to passengers sooner.

July 23 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Census results released last week offered some astonishing findings - each of England's big cities is growing, after shedding people only a decade ago. The Economist looks at the phenomenon and the factors that have contributed to the resurgence.

July 23 - The Economist

Increasingly utilized as 'black boxes' in the aftermath of collisions with motorized vehicles, video cameras are the newest addition to the arsenal of tools being employed to make streets safer for bikes.

July 23 - The New York Times

The Bay Area's two regional agencies approved funding a study to pursue a 9-county "vehicle-miles-traveled" fee of as much as 10-cents per mile that could involve GPS technology to fund regional transportation improvements.

July 23 - San Jose Mercury News

In light of last week's incomprehensible tragedy in Colorado, Richard Florida prefaces the inevitable rekindling of the country's debate on gun rights by mapping gun violence at the state level and exploring its correlating factors.

July 23 - The Atlantic Cities

Will a new Chicago ordinance put the kibosh on mobile cupcakes and kabobs?

July 23 - The Huffington Post

Although the first segment of the state's recently approved high-speed rail line terminates in California's Central Valley, a significant portion of the initial funding will go to improving rail lines from San Diego to San Francisco.

July 22 - KPCC

Gone are the days of drab cinderblock housing for America's military families. Taking advantage of an initiative passed by Congress in 1996, today's privatized military housing developments are larger and packed with modern amenities.

July 22 - The New York Times

As Congress presses to eliminate funding for many of the federal government's sustainable planning initiatives, increased collaboration among agencies around smart growth policies may be irreversible.

July 22 - Streetsblog

After the bust of the housing market in 2008, a striking reversal of settlement patterns in New Jersey gives cities the lead in population growth over once-booming suburbs and exurbs.

July 22 - New Jersey Future