The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The Conservative Party may have won Canada's federal election yesterday, but did so without much support from major cities. With few urban MPs in the Conservative cabinet, how will the incoming parliament deal with issues facing cities?

October 16 - The Globe and Mail

In a contest sponsored by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, architecture firms nationwide competed to show off how they would best use land currently devoted to strip malls. <i>Bustler</i> provides the winning entries.

October 16 - Bustler

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has announced that within the next five years, $5 billion will go to funding 20,000 new affordable homes near public transportation.

October 16 - The Architect's Newspaper

MBTA is spending almost $200 million for 75 new rail cars from a South Korean company that has yet to sell its cars in the U.S., so rail experts have expressed doubts about the wisdom of this purchase for the troubled Boston T.

October 16 - The Boston Globe

Tonight's presidential debate is the candidates' last chance to address respective suburban and urban issues.

October 15 - The New York Times

Commercial real estate developers go into detail on the impact of the financial crisis on their ability to make projects happen.

October 15 - Mlive.com

Raised and fortified homes in Beachtown, a community in Galveston, Texas, took a direct hit from Hurricane Ike, and survived, intact.

October 15 - New Urban News

To keep its gaming rights which will in turn preserve its property value, The Queen of Hearts casino must open for eight hours every two years.

October 15 - Los Angeles Times

Paradoxically, Chicago's roads are more gridlocked than ever despite fewer trips by car overall due to gas prices.

October 15 - Chicago Tribune

FEATURE

How is the financial crisis impacting urban planning and land use policy? Managing Editor Tim Halbur takes a look at some early indicators drawn from recent news headlines and conversations with planning professionals.

October 15 - Tim Halbur

The authors of one study assert that vibrant cities can't be engineered by the application of "nuanced criteria"; however, this has very much become the paradigm of urban planning.

October 15 - Toronto Star

Unlike many other states faced with the challenge of housing its homeless, Massachusetts is mandated by law to do so. Unfortunately, Massachusetts is also faced with budget shortfalls, making solutions elusive.

October 15 - NPR

At a time when motorists have a smorgasbord of distractions to contend with, select US streets take a taste of a Scandinavian recipe for street design, where pedestrians, cyclists, other motorists, and even trees are blended together intuitively.

October 15 - New Urban News

Unable to bear the financial burden of serving the community's poor, inner-city nonprofit hospitals have been shutting down while investing in suburban hospitals, where patients are more likely to be insured.

October 15 - The Wall Street Journal

Roads are to blame for interfering with and "boxing in" various animals' migratory patterns, sending ecologists on the hunt for new solutions to get wildlife moving.

October 15 - The New York Times

Las Vegas' Union Park is a LEED-certified development that sits on a revitalized brownfield, but with no shortage of Vegas' glitz. Can smart growth be as marketable as it is environmentally good?

October 14 - Next American City

As oil prices plunge to well below $100/barrel, will Americans reverse all their fuel-efficient behavior learned from $145 oil seen in July? It appears that the economic crisis may continue where the energy crisis left off.

October 14 - The Wall Street Journal

BLOG POST

<p> James Howard Kunstler <a href="http://jameshowardkunstler.typepad.com/">has been saying for some time now</a> that when our &quot;ponzi scheme&quot; economy finally crumbles around us, people are going to be very angry, and looking for someone to blame. </p>

October 14 - Michael Dudley

One city in Virginia has gone from suburban to (quasi-)urban in just a few years.

October 14 - New Geography

Former Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith is impressed by Mayor Christopher B. Coleman's efforts to revitalize depressed areas of his city, St. Paul. Coleman keeps the focus on increasing local investment through his 'Invest St. Paul' program.

October 14 - Governing Magazine