The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Alex Goldmark reports on the new NASA-inspired space elevator design that is primed for testing and could make it possible for billionaires to step foot on the moon sooner than later.

September 15 - Transportation Nation

NYT Economic Scene columnist Eduardo Porter makes a strong case against the new 54.5 mpg by 2025 fuel efficiency standards, arguing instead for higher gas taxes. Critiquing the piece, Reuter's economics blogger, Felix Salmon calls for both measures.

September 15 - The New York Times - Business Day

Would you ride the bus more if your stop had one of these?

September 14 - BuzzFeed

Chuck Marohn opines on the oddly empty, and unnecessarily wide, streets of Kansas City, Missouri. With no traffic to speak of, Marohn argues that by building roads simply to move cars quickly, "We're fighting a beast that does not exist."

September 14 - Strong Towns

Finally, something Red and Blue America can agree on! A new poll published this week by the NRDC shows support for local investment in transit to reduce traffic crosses the country's wide political and geographic divides.

September 14 - Streetsblog D.C.

Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, for the last two weeks of this month New Yorkers will get a sneak peak at the technology that may one day make a proposed underground park - dubbed the Lowline - into a reality, reports Alex Goldmark.

September 14 - Transportation Nation

Across the U.S., cities bear the scars of giant projects stalled by the economic crisis. Too often, the public ends up with the short end of the stick.

September 14 - The Wall Street Journal

Sure, they may be doing so for purely financial reasons, but across America, big box stores are leading the way in embracing renewable energy sources, reports Diane Cardwell.

September 14 - The New York Times

New research conducted by the CDC in Atlanta is aimed at understanding just how prevalent exposure to dangerous levels of highway noise is. Such exposure can play a detrimental role in one's health.

September 14 - NPR

Ever wish it didn't take 4 calls, 2 letters, and 1 community meeting to get a pothole fixed in your city? A new software developed by IBM would allow cities to mine social media to get a picture of public sentiment, long before you dial 3-1-1.

September 14 - The Atlantic Cities

Hazel Borys compiles an extraordinary list of studies quantifying the role of livable, walkable places in building equity, city coffers, health, and social capital.

September 14 - PlaceShakers

If you live in New York City, now is the time to get your super sized sodas while you still can. Due to a ban on the sale of large sugary drinks approved yesterday by the NYC Board of Health, such treats will be verboten in six months.

September 14 - The New York Times

A growing list of cities are banking their economic development on the medical and educational sectors, which have consistently grown over the past few decades. Aaron Renn examines why overreliance on eds and meds is problematic.

September 13 - New Geography

Scientists have created <em>sounds</em> from air pollution data that allow listeners to hear the striking differences and similarities between the air we breathe in America's most polluted city and remote pine forests.

September 13 - The Atlantic

Citing a lack of affordable housing, a Manhattan Community Board has sent architecture's hot young firm, Denmark-base Bjarke Ingels Group (aka BIG), back to the drawing board to amend the design for their premier New York project.

September 13 - The New York Observer

America's burgeoning bicycle culture gets the star treatment, as <em>USA Today</em> focuses its attention on the new infrastructure, new funding, and new culture that have made bicycling in Portland an ease.

September 13 - USA Today

Reflecting on his experiences at CNU's recent Transportation Summit, Jarrett Walker examines "the mutual incomprehension that plagues the relationship between urban designers and transit planners."

September 13 - Human Transit

"It's like the gardener's version of graffiti," says one. In San Francisco, activists hope to transform once-purely ornamental street trees into fruit-bearing ones, to provide fresh fruit to the local community.

September 13 - Los Angeles Times

A deal was reached this week between Seattle's City Council and a local hedge-fund manager to build a basketball and hockey arena in the Sodo section of the city. But will the deal be enough to lure professional basketball back to the city?

September 13 - The Seattle Times

As Generation Y-ers (or Millennials) reach maturity, some question the generation's ongoing adoration of the city, and whether it will continue as they begin to marry and raise children.

September 13 - The Atlantic Cities