The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

TIME's senior national correspondent posits that once the first shovel begins digging int the Central Valley, the $68 billion project will be hard to stop, regardless of the fact that no federal funding awaits as long as the GOP controls the House.

July 12 - Time

Matt Flegenheimer reports on Mayor Bloomberg's announcement this week that the city plans to expand its so-called neighborhood slow-zone program, which is aimed at reducing driving speeds in neighborhoods across town.

July 12 - The New York Times

Martin Di Caro reports on the enthusiastic response that the bike rental program Capital Bikeshare has produced in D.C., and the significant changes it's sparked in the local culture and economy.

July 12 - WAMU

A recent article by Amanda Hess examines whether cities like Los Angeles should be "funneling serious resources" towards attracting discretionary commuters. The article has spurred significant debate.

July 11 - The Atlantic Cities

A new report by the McKinsey Global Institute finds that the global consuming class will grow by 1 billion people by 2025, and undergo a profound geographic shift. Cities and businesses should prepare for this shift with targeted investments.

July 11 - McKinsey & Company

Have you been following the recent Libor banking scandal with detached bewilderment? Well, your public officials should probably be paying close attention, because there's a chance it may have had a substantial impact on your city's finances.

July 11 - The New York Times

For those seeking to diversify metropolitan mode shares, good news can be found in a report just published by the Brookings Institution: most urban jobs are near transit. Unfortunately, employees, for the most part, are not, reports Conor Dougherty.

July 11 - The Wall Street Journal

An annual highlight of the avant-garde architecture scene, each summer since 2000, the Serpentine Gallery in London commissions "a temporary pavilion from an architect who has not built in England before." Michael Webb looks at this year's version.

July 11 - The Architect's Newspaper

Teresa Burney reports on PulteGroup's new marketing services geared towards understanding the Gen Y demographic as new potential homeowners.

July 11 - Builder

Joseph Berger examines how gentrification in certain Brooklyn neighborhoods has revealed a conflict of values among residents.

July 11 - The New York Times

Steve Whitman, AICP, and Sharon Ferguson discuss what planners need to know about Permaculture, a holistic, integrated system analysis and design tool that very few planners are using.

July 11 - Practicing Planner

In New York City a new project, I Wish I Said Hello, takes Craigslist's 'missed connections' from the internet to the street.

July 11 - Wired

Following on historic new powers granted recently to cities across England, RIBA and ResPublica have published a new paper arguing for greater collaboration with local communities in neighborhood planning, writes Irina Vinnitskaya.

July 11 - ArchDaily

BLOG POST

How forlorn spaces might be developed as community resources that lend a sense of place, however fleeting, can be a precarious exploit.<br /> <br /> Convinced the real challenge in planning and design these dog days is placemaking, my convivial colleague Rhett Beavers and I have been exploring the potential of a variety of fringe and derelict sites under the banner of the Landscape Architecture program at UCLA Extension. With big and brutalistic no longer winning the hearts and minds of the discerning public, we are thinking small and green. <br />

July 10 - Sam Hall Kaplan

Continuing his series examining the changes and new provisions detailed in the new federal surface transportation bill, Jason Jordan, APA's Director of Policy and Government Affairs, looks at the new Transportation Alternatives program.

July 10 - APA Policy News

Lloyd Alter investigates the individuals and organizations "manufacturing" the anti-Agenda 21 campaign, and argues that "Big Oil" is helping to bankroll anti-sustainability efforts.

July 10 - Treehugger

Have you ever thought those teensy 400 square foot NYC apartments were just too darn big? If so, you and Mayor Bloomberg have something in common, as yesterday the city launched an initiative to develop a new model of tiny, but affordable, housing.

July 10 - The New York Observer

The American Planning Association has released the findings of its biennial salary survey of the planning profession. Check out the results to see how your compensation stacks up.

July 10 - APA

Tim Williams argues that Sydney's ubiquitous and beloved terraced housing provides an exemplary model for developing environmentally efficient and livable communities. So why is their construction being stymied?

July 10 - Regeneration+Renewal

Leda Marritz notes that renderings of proposed landscape improvement projects often feature beautiful mature trees intended to spruce up streetscapes. But the associated plans regularly overlook a crucial element: room for the trees to grow.

July 10 - Next American City