The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

BLOG POST

<p> With the subprime mortgage and housing bubble crises now metastasizing into the full-blown implosion of the U.S. economy, global markets have been gasping to keep up with the turmoil. Later this week Congress will be pressured to approve a <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/09/23">mind-boggling $700 billion &quot;bailout&quot; package</a> which would effectively transform Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. into an <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0923/p01s06-usec.html">&quot;overseer&quot; of the entire economy</a>, with complete and unassailable power to purchase so-called &quot;toxic&quot; debts from any bank he chooses.<br />

September 23 - Michael Dudley

A landscape architect from M.I.T. is proposing to create a whole new ecosystem to address water pollution problems in Italy.

September 23 - The New York Times

Prefab is less wasteful, green and affordable? Not according to Chad Ludeman, who has taken the pulse of the prefab field and found it wanting.

September 23 - Treehugger

By looking at city data and quality-of-life measures, <em>Forbes</em> has created a list of the most stressful cities in the U.S. Chicago, Detroit and New York rank the highest.

September 23 - Forbes

A new book documents the re-branding of New York from its days of crime and squalor in the 1970s to today, when Mayor Bloomberg has an appointed chief marketing officer.

September 23 - The New York Times

Last week, transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters announced that the Highway Trust Fund will be empty by Oct. 1st. This editorial considers two possible options to fund transportation.

September 23 - The Washington Post

The Congress for the New Urbanism has released a list of the top ten urban freeways that need to be torn down.

September 23 - Congress For New Urbanism

After a New York Times article revealed an 'epidemic' of disability claims for retired employees of the Long Island Rail Road (the nation's largest commuter railroad), NY Governor Paterson announced he would have AG Cuomo launch an investigation.

September 23 - The New York Times

VP candidate Sarah Palin recently commented on the love and respect she and her fellow Alaskans have for the environment, but locals say that in her time as mayor she 'fouled her own nest.'

September 23 - Salon.com

Blogger S.G.Narayanamurthy reports from Bangalore on the continuing problems with obstructions to the streetscape from vendors, cafes, mechanics, parking, waste water, construction, etc. The story includes a slideshow.

September 22 - Citizen Matters (in Bangalore)

Michael Arad's winning design for the Ground Zero memorial must overcome considerable political, administrative and financial hurdles if it is ever to be constructed.

September 22 - Globe and Mail

Frequent Rider Miles, on-line tickets and on-board wi-fi are but a few of the amenities and cost cutting strategies that are attracting riders to inter-city bus travel.

September 22 - Business Week

FEATURE

Some 'parkers' faced police harassment, but on the whole Park(ing) Day 2008 was sunny and positive, as Los Angelenos put their own stamp on the celebration. In this video slideshow, we take a tour of some of L.A.'s parking spot parks.

September 22 - Nate Berg

The pace of development in Cape Town, South Africa, is too fast for the city to keep up with infrastructure improvements. Officials are calling for increased gas taxes to generate funding for maintenance of roads and other infrastructure.

September 22 - Cape Times

The Sept. 12 crash of a Metrolink commuter train with a U.P. freight train resulting in 25 deaths has brought attention to Southern California's regional rail system, revealing that it is a weak 'stepchild' to the larger, better funded LA MTA.

September 22 - Los Angeles Times

As California planners convene in Hollywood this week, Bill Fulton reminds them that Hollywood is not just Tinseltown, but a real urban place with a real urban history.

September 22 - California Planning & Development Report

This article from <em>Metropolis</em> looks at the plan for a magnetic-levitation train connecting Las Vegas and Anaheim, which has been brewing for years. But is this idea detracting from more feasible high speed rail plans?

September 22 - Metropolis

Presidential candidate Barack Obama has announced a $5 billion plan to restore the Great Lakes, funded by reductions in tax cuts for oil companies.

September 22 - The Detroit Free Press

Unlike the public transit systems of many other cities, Rochester, New York, recently lowered its fares -- and they've got a budget surplus to boot. But to maintain this economic rarity, service has been reduced.

September 22 - Nate Berg

FEATURE

September 22 - Josh Stephens