The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

This Earth Day, Make the Connection With Land Use

Patrick L. Phillips, CEO of the Urban Land Institute, uses the occasion of Earth Day to say yes, "how we use land matters."

April 22 - ULI

Forbes Ranking Finds Cities in "Free Fall"

Forbes Magazine analyzed major economic indicators for the country's 40 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) and discovered that 10 cities are facing worsening economic conditions.

April 22 - Forbes

The Orthodoxy of Urbanism

Planners take a prescriptive approach to urbanism, while people have their own ideas about what makes good places that don't fit the standard orthodoxy. Drew Austin says both extremes need attention, and synthesis.

April 22 - The Urbanophile

The Demise of the Bar Car

The Metro North rail line out of Grand Central Terminal has one of the last bar cars in the U.S., but railroad officials are replacing the aging cars and the bar car may be a victim of the budget.

April 22 - The New York Times

From Bedroom Communities to Jet Engine Communities

More and more people working in the San Francisco Bay Area are opting for cheaper housing outside the region. Some are going way outside the region, commuting by airplane from Portland or Seattle.

April 22 - The Wall Street Journal


The One-Two Punch of Job Losses and Falling Home Values

Housing devaluation and job loss are the two major problems affecting America's urban areas. But as this article from <em>Governing</em> explains, those two problems are playing out in drastically different ways from metro to metro.

April 22 - Governing

'Desprawling' the Suburbs

Tysons Corner, Virginia, represents an unlikely pilot project for "desprawling" America's suburbs, but the expansion of Metro rail through the town has been seized by local officials as an opportunity to revamp the city's urban form and density.

April 22 - Good


Rabid Protester of Atlantic Yards Project Gives Up

Daniel Goldstein was the spokesperson for the group Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, fighting against a massive redevelopment project that would take his home. One of the last holdouts, he sold his apt. today for $3 million.

April 21 - New York Post

Lots of Jobs, But No Housing for Workers

North Dakota is undergoing a jobs boom right now, but it doesn't have the housing stock to match the new increase in workers.

April 21 - The New York Times

From Commissioner to Planner: Switching Sides

Dave Stauffer was a planning commissioner in Red Lodge, Montana before taking a job as a city planner. Wayne Senville talks to Dave about making the switch.

April 21 - Planning Commissioners Journal

Developers Put On A Show in Montreal

An exhibit of architectural plans from developers working in Montreal shows possible futures for the city, ranging from striking domes to mixed-use commercial and residential complexes.

April 21 - The Gazette (Montreal)

Why Auto-Rickshaws Matter for India

With rapid population growth in Indian cities and a rise in private car ownership, it is critical to reassess the role of auto-rickshaws in the urban transportation landscape, say Akshay Mani and Amit Bhatt.

April 21 - TheCityFix Mumbai

WalMart vs. Preservationists at Civil War Site

In Orange County, Virginia, a battle is heating up at the site of the civil war's Battle of the Wilderness. The Board of Supervisors has approved a WalMart nearby, but preservationists are challenging the decision in court.

April 21 - Preservation Magazine

Honolulu's Rail Plan Debated Amongst Engineers

A Univ. of HI civil engineering professor blasts the professional engineering group of Hawaii's endorsement of the planned, elevated rail system. Voters supported the system in a 2008 election, but it has since become politically contentious.

April 21 - (Honolulu) Star Bulletin

Distracted from Infrastructure

With huge financial problems facing government at all levels in the U.S., some worry that infrastructure will fall by the wayside as budgetary priorities are laid out.

April 21 - Governing

Subdivisions Built Around Agriculture

This article from <em>GOOD</em> wonders whether farms could become the new cornerstone amenity in suburban residential communities.

April 21 - Good

The Story Behind Suburban Poverty

<em>Next American City</em> talks with the Brookings Institution's Elizabeth Kneebone about the growth of poverty in suburban areas.

April 21 - Next American City

BLOG POST

Miami’s Visit from the Planning Heavens

<!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal">Let’s face it, we all get into planning ruts. A public meeting gone awry, a discontented client, a community that just doesn’t get it.<span>  </span>I like to call it planning fatigue, and up until a month ago, I was headed down that path. But a meeting of the minds which converged in my hometown, Miami, brought me a little closer to god, the planning god, that is. Joe Riley, the mild mannered and poignant mayor of Charleston brought me to planning euphoria. If you’ve heard him speak, then you know what I mean.<span>  </span>If you haven’t, well let me bring you up to speed.<span> </span></p>

April 20 - Melissa Hege

Streetcar Suburbs May Not Actually Support Streetcars

Yonah Freemark suggests that the original streetcar suburbs were actually not dense enough to continue supporting streetcars back in the day.

April 20 - Next American City

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