The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Taxpayers, not transit users, will bail out motorists to keep the highway trust fund solvent. The administration had initially proposed to use transit funds and veto using general funds, but with the fund scheduled to go bust in Oct., they relented.

September 9 - Los Angeles Times via San Francisco Chronicle

Safety codes recommended by NIST after analyzing the collapse of the World Trade Center are being challenged by another federal agency on the grounds they will be too costly.

September 9 - The New York Times

By enlisting the help of concerned local citizens, researchers are getting better documentation of the locations of potentially polluting industrial land uses near residential areas.

September 9 - The Los Angeles Times

Michael George of Golden State Water Company makes an impassioned plea for leadership from Sacramento as the state’s deepening water supply crisis gets lost in another budget battle.

September 9 - The Planning Report

The battle over development continues in Dharavi, the largest slum in India. Its valuable location in Mumbai has had developers' mouths watering for years, but residents have resisted their drive to demolish and rebuild the slum.

September 8 - The Los Angeles Times

The government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will likely bring lower interest rates, but tighter eligibility requirements and stricter monitoring of underwriting.

September 8 - CNN

A recent study shows that about 60% of all trips into the urban core of Vancouver are not by car.

September 8 - The Vancouver Sun

A collection of links to online sources for parking spots.

September 8 - Mashable

Surrounded by storefronts, but nowhere to shop? Charlotte, NC, like many reviving downtowns, has a plethora of restaurants but a lack of significant retail.

September 8 - Governing Magazine

The Chinese coastal city of Macau has passed Las Vegas as the biggest gambling city in the world. This article from <em>Smithsonian Magazine</em> looks at how it got there.

September 8 - Smithsonian

Neal Pierce looks at America's addiction to incarceration and drug prohibition and wonders what -- if anything -- the presidential candidates would do to change the country's course.

September 8 - Citiwire

Tokyo finds solution to commuter bicycle parking shortage by building high-tech robotic garages.

September 8 - The Washington Post

Housing -- or the lack of it -- remains a major issue in post-Katrina New Orleans.

September 8 - Mother Jones

Merced California typefies the housing bust: speculation, foreclosures, and the construction of houses nobody can afford to buy.

September 8 - The New York Times

FEATURE

Leonardo Vázquez, AICP/PP, applauds recent changes to the AICP Certification Maintenance Program that reduce costs and improve access.

September 8 - Leonardo Vazquez, AICP/PP

Urban chickens have been approved in Fort Collins, Colorado. Some, including one vocal city council member, are not happy about it.

September 8 - Fort Collins Now

That's the question the Vancouver Planning Commission has been tossing around with the public for the last year or so, as they prepare a "Change Charter" for City Hall.

September 8 - The Vancouver Sun

Delays in construction have cased FIFA officials to remove Port Elizabeth from the list of host cities for the 2009 Confederations Cup, the dress rehearsal tournament before the 2010 World Cup. Concerns remain about the country's readiness.

September 7 - Sports Illustrated

BLOG POST

Decades after its founding, New Urbanism design movement retains a serious reputation problems among American urbanists.

September 7 - Robert Goodspeed

The "creative class" is using the Internet and the blog world to drum up new ideas for combating sprawl and placelessness. This article argues it's only a matter of time before these urban thinkers go from blogging to local politics.

September 7 - The St. Petersburg Times