The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Experts have opined that up to 60 percent of residents are inclined to want to bike, but concerned about the safety of their route. Working from this premise, the city of Austin has developed a novel bike map keyed to the comfort of each street.

February 16 - The Atlantic Cities

Rain water collection in Yemen, shaded bus shelters in Uganda and a pop-up modular park in Argentina are the legacy of Philips's Livable Cities Awards.

February 16 - The Pop-Up City

As cities and counties move forward with smoke-free housing laws, a different public health concern often gets lost in the shuffle: how to make sure these new laws don’t put low-income residents at risk of losing their homes.

February 16 - HealthyCal.org

They're among the most populous cities in the world. So why are India's largest cities virtually bereft of skylines? Mark Bergen explores the answers.

February 16 - The Atlantic Cities

With just two miles of an eventual 22 transformed from old rail tracks to trails, Atlantans are enjoying a taste of the planned $2.8 billion BeltLine. Despite its early success, the future of the ambitious project is far from settled.

February 16 - The New York Times

Florida Southern College, the National Register-listed campus that features "the largest concentration of [Frank Lloyd] Wright designed structures anywhere in the world," has found an impressive way to house its feral cats.

February 15 - Archinect

Looking for a stimulating way to waste some time this afternoon? A new game from the inventive software developers at Code for America will test how well you know your city - down to the neighborhood.

February 15 - The Atlantic Cities

Fifty years after Jane Jacobs published her seminal book, "her vision of urban change [has] won the day," says Inga Saffron. Though her vision of physical diversity has prevailed, "that vision is also giving us a new kind of sterility."

February 15 - The New Republic

Many have commented that for a President with a strong urban background and constituency, Barack Obama has given scant attention to urban issues. Will a new program announced today change that narrative?

February 15 - The New York Times

The D.C. suburbs seem to be fertile ground for some of the nation's most ambitious retrofit projects. The latest plan to be made public would transform a 1950's era apartment and retail complex in Silver Spring, reports Jonathan O'Connell.

February 15 - The Washington Post

With many states witnessing a rise in pedestrian fatalities, David M Nelson asks: "Where is the public outcry to improve safety?" With pedestrians often blamed for such incidents, he argues new laws dealing with pedestrian-vehicle crashes are needed.

February 15 - PPS Placemaking Blog

Updating the U.S.'s aging infrastructure requires legislative common sense, says Rep. Bill Shuster.

February 15 - The Washington Post

With its congestion pricing scheme, London took drastic steps to reduce the number of vehicles entering the city. With a new plan announced by Mayor Boris Johnson, the city is moving to limit the impact of those vehicles on the environment.

February 15 - Business Green

Instead of planning cities around shiny, tomorrowland dreams of our own invention, how about planning them around something we can count on: the needs of people! Complete with a groovy, vintage planning video mash-up.

February 15 - PlaceShakers

Anyone with an Internet connection can tell you when a city was founded. But after the trauma of urban renewal and suburban flight, how much historic fabric remains? Wendell Cox ranks metropolitan areas by their shares of pre-World War II homes.

February 15 - New Geography

From February 16 to June 2, 2013, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is hosting a retrospective of the provocative architect's work from the last 35 years.

February 14 - Architizer

The low-lying city of 50,000 across the Hudson River from Manhattan was badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Mayor Dawn Zimmer wants to city to serve as a model for how to develop a uniquely urban approach to extreme storm preparation.

February 14 - The New York Times

Light-weight, durable cars are the next frontier of 3D printing. Meet Urbee, the hybrid that, according to its inventor, will be the VW Bug of our century.

February 14 - Twin Cities

This week, reports Orhan Ayyüce, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced the launch of "a major new research center focused on the planning, design, construction and retrofitting of urban environments for the 21st century."

February 14 - Archinect

Environmentalists likely found much to cheer in President Obama's support for bold action on climate change during the State of the Union address. Was their optimism premature?

February 14 - Grist