The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Will Doig considers the growing pressure cities face to build a marketable identity, and why that's a particular challenge for generally livable cities.

July 2 - Salon

In McAllen, Texas, WalMart Stores Inc. abandoned one of their big box stores. Rather than let it collect dust, the city transformed it into the U.S.'s largest public library.

July 2 - Grist

Editorial draws attention to the impact of global warming on our cities and advocates planning for climate change.

July 2 - Los Angeles Times

A new report by Oakland, CA nonprofit Urban Strategies Council reveals that a massive surge has occurred in investor-speculator ownership in the city's low-income neighborhoods in the wake of the foreclosure crisis.

July 2 - InfoAlamedaCounty.org

The alternative plan directs a sizable percentage of the initial $6 billion allocation to the Bay and LA regions to upgrade existing commuter lines at the expense of greater investment in the Central Valley. Funding plan may be determined by July 6.

July 2 - California Watch

Shane Snow says that New Jersey is home to "a lively, tight-knit community of tech workers," and while it will never rival other tech corridors, it is "hip, young and hungry."

July 2 - Fast Company

A decade after Mayor Williams helped inspire a revitalization strategy for Washington, DC's H Street, the formerly downtrodden neighborhood is bustling and ready for the crowning touch - a $13m streetcar system.

July 2 - Financial Times

A device invented to cool factories changed where and how our cities formed.

July 2 - The Atlantic

Jessica Reeder examines new methods of "coliving" cropping up in the Internet age, including the repurposing of McMansions into shared living for singles.

July 2 - Shareable

Should Los Angeles be investing more in bus-rapid transit?

July 2 - Los Angeles Times

The City of Pittsburgh, PA has announced an "urban forest master plan" to add more foliage to the 2.5 million trees already covering the city.

July 1 - The Pittsburg Post-Gazette

As GOOD's Sammy Roth notes, it's pretty impractical. But the Czech-based DesignYourDreams has pioneered a working model. (VIDEO)

July 1 - Good

Just how does a transportation bill that doesn't increase fuel taxes or introduce new user charges, and maintain the same level of spending reduce the deficit by $16.3 billion? Ask the Congressional Budget Office.

July 1 - Taxpayers For Common Sense

Since the mid-1970s, Detroit’s riverfront has been transforming from a depressed industrial area into a bustling district for families and businesses.

July 1 - Detroit Free Press

Winnie Hu reports on a new effort in Macombs Dam Park in the Bronx to encourage adults into healthy activity.

July 1 - The New York Times

James Trainor looks back at the history of New York's "adventure playgrounds" of the 1960s and 70s, tracing their origin back to the original Central Park dust-up between Robert Moses and local housewives.

June 30 - CABINET

Carol Morello and Patricia Sullivan explore the recent population spike in Washington, D.C., part of a nationwide trend toward "an urban renaissance."

June 30 - Washington Post

After seizing control of a condo association, a Pennsylvania developer has forced 11 homeowners to sell their units for as little as a third of their appraised value, leaving them stranded with crippling mortgages, Teke Wiggin reports.

June 30 - AOL Real Estate

Anthony Paletta takes a look at a new book by Elihu Rubin, chronicling the intriguing political history behind the construction of Boston's Prudential Center in the mid-1950s.

June 30 - Metropolis Magazine

At long last, after more than a thousand days of politicking, Congress passed a comprehensive federal transportation funding bill on Friday. Transportation reform advocates are disappointed by the results.

June 30 - Streetsblog D.C.