The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>This film from <em>Streetsblog</em> looks at a community effort in Portland to remove pavement from unused parking lots.</p>

June 20 - Streetsblog L.A.

<p>Monocle Magazine looks worldwide for the most livable cities.</p>

June 20 - Monocle Magazine

BLOG POST

<p> Adaptation is a way of life. But we humans have been building our habitats and cities in pursuit of permanence. This is an unreachable goal. Making our cities and communities and lifestyles adapt to outside influences is typically an afterthought. We do tend to react, and we often react very effectively. But solving problems before they happen has never been a strong suit when it comes to urban development. This is especially true with regard to our impacts on the environment. A recent and bizarre example illustrates this point. </p>

June 19 - Nate Berg

<p>Today is "Dump the Pump" Day, an annual event created by the American Public Transportation Association to bring awareness to the benefits of public transit. Transit agencies across the country are offering free rides, including many in Florida.</p>

June 19 - Tim Halbur

<p>Bay Area tech companies are increasingly opening offices in downtown San Francisco, a significant change from the development pattern of the last ten years.</p>

June 19 - BusinessWeek

<p>A new AIA report shows that new homes under construction are getting smaller in response to market forces.</p>

June 19 - AIArchitect

<p>In what is almost a real-life caricature of the battle of the single homeowner against the huge corporation, Edith Macefield refused to sell her home to a developer planning a major retail outlet, who then built around. This week Ms. Macefield died.</p>

June 19 - The Seattle Times

<p>A Taiwanese inventor is proposing a rail system that never stops for passengers, virtually eliminating delays. Follow the full story link to see the video.</p>

June 19 - boingboing.net

<p>Metropolis Magazine visits Ground Zero as building begins, and finds that the bold plans and architectural dreams have fizzled.</p>

June 19 - Metropolis Magazine

<p>Urban decay blankets much of downtown Detroit. More and more people are pushing for adaptive reuse of the aging and underused buildings, but some city policies may get in the way.</p>

June 19 - The Next American City

<p>As a Texas beach erodes and the waves come closer to shore, homeowners are scrambling to figure out what to do when the public beach invades their private property.</p>

June 19 - NPR

<p>This article from <em>The Christian Science Monitor</em> looks at how development, farm practices, and population growth have increased the risk of flooding.</p>

June 19 - The Christian Science Monitor

<p>The rise in virtual connections and Internet-based communities had many worried that traditional community interaction was dying out. <em>Governing</em>'s Alan Ehrenhalt argues it hasn't yet, and probably won't.</p>

June 19 - Governing

<p>"Football Carnivals" are on the rise in Germany, where the community viewing buzz from the 2006 World Cup has hung around and revived itself for the current European Championship.</p>

June 18 - Der Spiegel

<p>For six hours this Sunday, streets in North Portland will be off-limits to cars.</p>

June 18 - The Oregonian

<p>Flood waters along the Mississippi River continue to rise, leaving many Midwest towns deep under water. The Army Corps of Engineers has just identified 27 levees that may not be high enough to handle the rising waters.</p>

June 18 - USA Today

<p>This column from the <em>Toronto Star</em> argues that Toronto needs to take at least a few lessons from Vancouver if it wants to improve its planning.</p>

June 18 - The Toronto Star

<p>The use of geographic information systems for the public good is a rapidly growing field. The technology shows great promise for discovering unequal distribution of resources and environmental racism, writes Peter Manzo.</p>

June 18 - Stanford Social Innovation Review

<p>Daniel Reed, former Planning Director of Daytona Beach, is now the primary planner of Sadr City, 12 miles north of Baghdad.</p>

June 18 - The Bay City Times

<p>An avalanche decimates an Alaskan city's energy infrastructure, leading residents to craft creative ways to conserve energy and lower their utility bills.</p>

June 18 - The Next American City