The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Why rezone? John Farley summarizes the factors leading up to some of the city's biggest and more recent rezonings, as well as their impacts on on their surroundings.

January 5 - Thirteen.org

There's not a lot of talk about cities or urban issues among the Republicans running for president, according to this piece from <em>Salon</em>.

January 5 - Salon

Jobs of the future will be located in areas with some of the fastest bandwidth in the world -- and American is in sorry shape, writes columnist Thomas Friedman in <em>The New York Times</em>.

January 5 - The New York Times

Numerous projects and economic development efforts have brought newfound attention to downtown Oklahoma City over the last year. Now locals are wondering if the pace can continue.

January 5 - The Oklahoman

After decades of planning, a 20-mile light rail line in Honolulu is set to begin construction this March, despite persistent concerns over the project's cost.

January 5 - The New York Times

In last week's court ruling, the California Supreme Court didn't just kill redevelopment. The court also upheld a drawn-out process of other agencies picking the meat off redevelopment's bones.

January 5 - California Planning & Development Report

A recently implemented 10-cent fare increase is just one sign of Mayor Rob Ford's attacks on public transit in Toronto, according to this editorial from the <em>Toronto Star</em>.

January 5 - The Toronto Star

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the money will be going to the Illinois Department of Transportation to continue work on its high-speed rail project.

January 5 - U.S. Federal Railroad Aministration

Planners and development experts explain why modeling Delhi after cities like Singapore, Hong Kon and Mumbai is misguided and dangerous.

January 5 - The Times Of India

Low-income residents of the Upper 9th Ward in New Orleans have lived alongside a potentially lethal legacy of federal policy decisions -- and on top of a 95-acre municipal dump.

January 5 - City Limits

Farmers are enjoying high corn prices and may not even have noticed the end of the subsidy on Dec. 31 according to the agricultural economist interviewed on NPR.

January 4 - NPR: Morning Edition

Trees are an increasingly important part of the urban infrastructure. However, a lack a awareness about how to plant and nurture large trees in urban environments dooms many trees to lackluster performance and a short life.

January 4 - The Globe and Mail

After a flawed parking study on Manhattan's core last fall, the NYC Department of City Planning have released a revised version that calls for an end to parking minimums, especially those linked to affordable housing.

January 4 - Streetsblog New York City

The formula for Detroit's current status is complicated -- a mix of local, regional and national socioeconomic forces. But while many hands have shaped the good and bad of today's Detroit, the impact of current federal policy is easy to spot.

January 4 - City Limits

Nearly everyone agrees that government needs to regulate. How much to regulate is the question. Reason Magazine looks at several current regulatory issues concludes that the regulatory pendulum "has swung too far."

January 4 - Reason Magazine

The California State Supreme Court recently upheld the eradication of the state's roughly 400 redevelopment agencies, and now officials from those groups are trying to convince legislators to give back some of their spending powers.

January 4 - Los Angeles Times

It's been over 12 years since Houston last planned for denser development patterns, but an updated code is on the way to lure an ever growing population away from the suburbs.

January 4 - Houston Chronicle

As crop prices rise, Iowa land formerly thought useless for farming is being tilled and planted.

January 4 - The New York Times

<em>The New York Times</em>' architecture critic, Michael Kimmelman, reviews a new exhibition exploring the history of the city's grid and streets.

January 4 - The New York Times

The idea of a federal infrastructure bank has been developing for years, and some say it may be the best way to ensure the country is able to build and repair its necessary infrastructure. But a review of state-level banks shows room for improvement.

January 4 - The Atlantic Cities