The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

We're likely witnessing the beginning of the slow decline of a technology that's defined our transportation and land use policies for a century - the private car. Emily Badger explains how unnoticed events produce socio-technical transitions.

March 14 - The Atlantic Cities

Green buildings "make business sense," says Jane Hanley, World Green Building Council CEO.

March 14 - Office Insight

David Moser pens a compelling essay that examines the ways in which sprawling auto-dependent land use patterns exacerbate poverty. As more low-income individuals and families are pushed to the suburbs, "this problem is gaining urgency."

March 13 - Citytank

Published to coincide with International Women’s Day 2013, Nicky Rackard has proffered a list of the 10 female architects most deserving of acclaim from historians. Add your comments to the active discussion responding to the article.

March 13 - Arch Daily

Providence, Rhode Island's vision for improving early childhood literacy has been selected as the winner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies' Mayor's Challenge, a nationwide contest seeking innovative and replicable ideas for improving cities.

March 13 - The New York Times

Brad Pitt's Make It Right foundation has built 90 cutting-edge homes in New Orleans' largely abandoned Lower Ninth Ward. Stores and services have stayed away, however, prompting many to wonder if the area will ever become a livable community again.

March 13 - The New Republic

James Kelly, formerly of Southern California Edison, moderated “Smart Grid: Real or Hype?” at this year’s VerdeXchange conference. Featuring utility and grid specialists, the panel addressed the challenges of implementing the smarter grid.

March 13 - The Planning Report

Nathan Masters collects astonishing images and histories of L.A.'s vanished train depots, some of which rival the city's greatest architectural treasures. As L.A. rebuilds its lost transit infrastructure, these images are especially heartbreaking.

March 13 - KCET

"Yes it can", at least to some extent appears to be the answer according to the WSJ. While the Keystone XL pipeline can move 830,000 barrels of oil a day, rail shipments are set to double this year to 200,000 barrels. Not so, according to the NRDC.

March 13 - The Wall Street Journal

An interactive map from the bike-sharing consultancy Metrobike plots the world's active, proposed, and failed bike-sharing services. Willie Osterweil draws some interesting lessons from the data.

March 13 - Shareable

With the MTA comprising a significant portion of the city's workforce and viability, NYC mayoral candidates remain reluctant to commit to invest in the transit authority. Their comments at a recent transit forum disappointed advocates.

March 13 - Next City

Should architects recuse themselves from designing buildings that violate human rights? Raphael Sperry says yes, especially when it comes to two building types that are ethically troublesome: execution chambers and supermax prisons.

March 13 - The Architect's Newspaper

The need to put Detroit under emergency management wasn't the result of a single failed strategy, but the culmination of decades of poor leadership, bad decisions, and "crossed fingers," report Monica Davey and Mary Williams Walsh.

March 12 - The New York Times

The construction cranes dotting South Boston's waterfront are just one sign of the city's booming real estate market. Vibrant industries seeking to lure young professionals to downtown workplaces are helping to drive development.

March 12 - Bloomberg

Using funds made available by savings captured through administrative reforms and other sources, New York's beleaguered Housing Authority has made considerable progress in tackling one of its most pressing problems - its backlog of maintenance jobs.

March 12 - Crain's New York Business

Under the cover of darkness two years ago, Tallahassee's StarMetro completely overhauled its entire bus system, replacing its out of date hub-and-spoke model with a grid-like system over one evening. This year, the system was honored by the APA.

March 12 - Governing

You've seen the news reports of skyrocketing gun sales due to the possibility of tightened gun restrictions in the wake of the Newtown, CT tragedy; yet the headlines of vocal opposition to gun control belie America's declining gun ownership rate.

March 12 - The New York Times

Still under construction 130 years after it was designed by architect Antoni Gaudi, the Sagrada Familia is the longest running architectural project in the world. On Sunday, "60 Minutes" looked at how modern technology is aiding its completion.

March 12 - The Verge

We've long focused on the *what* when providing housing for seniors. Today Hazel Borys reminds us that the *where* is equally critical, if not more so.

March 12 - PlaceShakers

Supplying power and transportation to 10 billion people while limiting hazardous emissions may be the defining challenge of the century. Many energy analysts think renewables won't get us there, and are betting on a nuclear energy miracle.

March 12 - The New York Times