The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has announced a $4.3 billion plan to improve the country's infrastructure, schools and housing stock.

October 14 - BBC

As cycling increases in Philadelphia, more bike parking is needed. But the common upside-down U-shaped rack won't provide enough for the city, according to this piece from <em>The Philadelphia Inquirer</em>.

October 14 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Yorktown was a booming exurb of Chicago, until the mortgage crisis put the kibosh on a number of developments in progress. Residents of these 'ghost towns' find themselves stuck with properties they can't sell.

October 14 - Chicago Tribune

Preservation of iconic buildings is important for historical reasons as well as environmental one, according to actress and preservationist Diane Keaton.

October 14 - Los Angeles Times

Ann Arbor, Michigan bought a former YMCA building to serve as affordable housing. Four years later, it sits empty, a piece of the difficult housing puzzle. 'Given the environment now, it would be tough,' says one planner about the site.

October 14 - Mlive.com

The theaters are in the same city, owned by the same company, a mile apart. One is by the highway on a 14-acre lot, the other is two stories in the middle of town with underground, metered parking, and eateries on the ground level. One is closing.

October 14 - The Examiner

BLOG POST

<p style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0px">One of the most interesting things that I have learned in school thus far is the history of the urban renewal program.  As a budding urban planner, I have often used the term “urban renewal” interchangeably with “urban revitalization” to describe the process of neighborhood improvement via economic and housing development.  Regardless of the term I used, I was very clear that revitalization – or renewal – was a catch-22.  The implementation of business and housing developments would jumpstart a neighborhood deemed blighted and consequently, only affluent residents could afford to enjoy the amenities of the revitalized neighborhood.</p>

October 13 - Tamika Camille Gauvin

As foreclosures spread throughout the suburbs, subdivisions are rapidly becoming modern-day ghost towns, according to this column from <em>The Seattle Times</em>.

October 13 - The Seattle Times

Days after Palin became Mayor she cast a proud, dissenting vote against the first zoning plan in Wasilla's history. Wasilla today reflects the results of Palin's free-market approach to development.

October 13 - Boston Globe

Brooklyn’s Ocean Parkway is one of America’s most 'elegant' roads. Designed by landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux to replicate the grand European Boulevards; opened in 1876, it was designated a landmark by NYC 100 years later

October 13 - The New York Times

The uber-wealthy are still buying homes on luxury golf course developments, but the rest of the market is hurting as courses close and projects stall around the world.

October 13 - The Wall St. Journal

The wetlands and barrier islands of Louisiana -- nature's way of absorbing tidal surges during tropical storms -- are almost gone. We may not be able to restore them.

October 13 - AlterNet

Over the last 70 years, sprawl has rapidly taken over much of Switzerland, not just in suburban areas around cities, but also in the country's famous Alps.

October 13 - SwissInfo

New York's Central Park was recently named to the APA's list of the country's 10 best public spaces. Sewell Chan wonders if the designation will really mean anything new for the park.

October 13 - The New York Times

A small suburban Houston town has been planning ahead for growth that's expected to bring its population from just over 700 to nearly 40,000 in the next 15 years.

October 13 - The Houston Chronicle

Mariia Zimmerman of Transportation for America makes the case for a significant investment in transportation infrastructure, from bike paths to inter-city trains.

October 13 - NOW

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jane Jacobs once said, “Songs and cities are the best things about us. Songs and cities are so indispensable.”<br /> <br /> For a long time I thought Mother Jacobs was speaking, as only she could, about two separate, but vital human necessities. Yet after another weekend exploring New York City, I am convinced the two—songs and cities—are inextricably linked. That is, truly great cities play their own songs, and after one listen you can’t get them out of your head. </p>

October 13 - Mike Lydon

The municipal bond market is drying up, which is causing Canadian cities to rethink their budgeting for infrastructure projects.

October 13 - Globe and Mail

FEATURE

In the midst of this financial crisis, it is doubly important to understand the economic perspective on urban planning and real estate development, argues USC Professor Peter Gordon.

October 13 - Peter Gordon

BLOG POST

<div> <em>&quot;We must respond to the reality that the gas tax, the traditional source of revenue for transportation investments at both the state and federal level, is not expected to keep pace with transportation needs in the future.&quot; With these words, New York Transportation Commissioner Astrid C. Glynn welcomed participants to a New York State DOT-sponsored symposium, &quot;Beyond the Gas Tax: Funding Future Transportation Needs.&quot; The event, organized by Prof. Robert (Buz) Paaswell, Director of the University Transportation Research Center at City College of New York, drew some 200 participants to Syracuse N.Y. on October 7. Emil Frankel, former Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation and currently head of the National Transportation Policy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center, gave the keynote address. He was followed by a group of </em><em>national and state speakers who examined the status of state and federal transportation finances and explored the funding options for the future.</em>

October 12 - Kenneth Orski