The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A marsh in Iraq drained by Saddam Hussein and believed by some to be the site of the Garden of Eden is being restored -- despite dangerous risks.

August 3 - Der Spiegel

Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is paying close attention to the link between transportation options and obesity in America. <em>Next American City</em>'s Willy Staley looks at whether this attention will fight the epidemic.

August 3 - Next American City

Three cities -- St. Louis, Houston and Detroit -- have gained new urban parks that are playing big roles in reviving parts of town.

August 3 - The Washington Post

This piece from <em>The New York Times</em> looks at how an ill-fated development plan for the island of Alameda fell apart, and the city official tied up in the controversy.

August 3 - The New York Times

A website for technology shoppers conducted a census of sorts and uncovered that different regions prefer different technologies. For example, New Yorkers love iPads but in Massachusetts they prefer Kindles.

August 2 - USA Today

Former major league baseball player Maurice Vaughn has made a new new career of buying, then rehabilitating public housing projects. The Times describes Mo's life and transformation as well as that of his six-year-old company, Omni New York LLC.

August 2 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

Seeking to replicate the success of the High Line linear park in New York City, some are suggesting the creation of a linear small business market beneath a segment of Metro tracks in Harlem.

August 2 - Crain's Business New York

The U.S. Department of Transportation issued repeat warnings to Enbridge Energy Partners, owner of a pipe that leaked an estimated 1 million gallons of oil into southwest Michigan's Kalamazoo River, to address the safety of its system.

August 2 - The Detroit Free Press

A population research group reports on two simultaneously occurring population trends in the world affecting developed and less developed nations: Working age adults have dropped precipitously, while poorer nations grow too fast.

August 2 - The New York Times - World

At $41,000 the new Chevrolet Volt is a "rich man's ride." Charles Lane asks why is President Obama offering federal tax credits of $7,500 to help better-off American's buy expensive cars?

August 2 - Slate

FEATURE

The 2010 World Cup has ended in South Africa. What's left behind are a number of physical and cultural legacies that will be both landmark developments and potential economic hazards.

August 2 - Nate Berg

While carpooling dropped 30% on the Bay Bridge after the first-time carpool charges were applied July 1, the Golden Gate Bridge reported a 68% drop, though it may be tied to confusion over which lane carpoolers should use with Fastrak requirement.

August 2 - Marin Independent Journal

Tom Vanderbilt explains adroitly "how not having a car became Hollywood shorthand for loser." Why does the film industry have such contempt for the carless?

August 2 - Slate

Retail Traffic Magazine reports that the indoor mall, long declared dead, has weathered the storm of the recession better than expected -- and better than many retail concepts imagined as the next big thing.

August 2 - Retail Traffic Magazine

With 420km of network, Shanghai's metro overtook the London Underground, which has a total of 402km. But the rate of expansion is more impressive: the first line was constructed in only 1995 and it is still expanding.

August 2 - Bricoleurbanism

A neighborhood in Corvallis, Oregon, is the pilot site of a neighborhood-wide "carbon challenge" in which residents try to reduce their carbon footprint.

August 1 - Corvallis Gazette-Times

A new project has created a digital map of Kibera, a large slum outside Nairobi, Kenya.

August 1 - Design Observer

The city has hundreds of houseboats on its waterways, but new shoreline regulations could prohibit any new houseboats.

August 1 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

That's the name of the new project being built in the Beijing Watercube, one of the city's highlight architectural creations built for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

August 1 - Contract

Despite what either of the state's two Republican gubernatorial candidates want, high speed rail is on its way to Wisconsin, according to DOT Secretary Ray LaHood.

August 1 - BizTimes