The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Google Sued Over 'Street View'

<p>Pittsburgh couple sues Google for invasion of privacy after photos of their home are published on Google's "Street View" mapping feature.</p>

April 8 - The Smoking Gun

40 Years Later, A Neighborhood's Comeback

<p>The U street corridor in Washington D.C. was a flash point during the 1968 riots. Four decades later, the neighborhood is finally recovering from the aftermath.</p>

April 8 - National Public Radio

Does Hiring A Starchitect Help Developers Get Approval?

<p>Controversy surrounds a proposed 75-story tower designed by Pritzker Prize winner Jean Nouvel adjacent to the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown Manhattan.</p>

April 8 - The New York Sun

From Parking Lot To Pedestrian-Friendly

<p>The University of Utah wants to transform an eight acre parking lot near its stadium light rail station into shops, offices and condos.</p>

April 8 - The Salt Lake Tribune

We'll Go Down To The River

<p>Despite official calls following the 1993 floods along the Mississippi to remove development from flood plains, more housing and retail developments continue to be built along vulnerable areas.</p>

April 8 - AlterNet


Court Blocks City from Razing Historic Downtown Hotels

<p>In response to the City of Stockton's attempts to block a lawsuit by citizens' group Save Old Stockton concerning demolition of several historic hotels, a California judge granted a temporary injunction to allow time for the lawsuit to proceed.</p>

April 8 - The Stockton Record

BLOG POST

Why Liability Concerns Should Not Prevent Pedestrian-Friendly Streets

<font size="2"> <p> American commercial streets are often designed almost exclusively for cars; streets are often as many as eight or ten lanes wide, lengthening pedestrian trips and encouraging motorists to drive at speeds unsafe for pedestrians. </p>

April 8 - Michael Lewyn


Is Suburbia Avoiding Reality?

<p>Michael Gecan uses the Chicago and New York City areas as examples of the challenges facing mature suburbs, examines the ways many are avoiding reality, and draws a series of conclusions.</p>

April 8 - Boston Review

When Redevelopment Plans Work

<p>Once considered a backwater near Los Angeles' westside, Culver City has experienced a resurgence. Residents like the new restaurants, but aren't prepared to cope with all the effects of the successful redevelopment.</p>

April 8 - The Los Angeles Times

Congestion Pricing Plan Dies in New York Assembly

Members of the New York State Assembly decided late Monday not to vote on New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan, a plan that the state would have needed to approve by April 7 to be eligible for more than $350 million.

April 8 - The New York Times

An Ambitious Plan For New Orleans' Riverfront

<p>The city wants to remove unused warehouses and port-facilities and open up several miles of its riverfront for public enjoyment.</p>

April 7 - New Orleans Times-Picayune

How To Fix The Problem Neighborhood

<p>Like so many drug and crime infested neighborhoods in cities everywhere, ideas abound for fixing the Jane and Fitch neighborhood in Toronto. But will any of them work?</p>

April 7 - Toronto Sun

Will Boston's Bike Czar Be Able To Improve Conditions For Cyclists?

<p>The city's new director of bicycle programs has the tough task of making Boston more bike-friendly.</p>

April 7 - The Boston Globe

The Reality Of Infill

<p>While planners generally sell plans with "integrated infill" and "elegant density" that pairs new development with public amenities, the reality of what gets built in neighborhoods isn't always what's promised.</p>

April 7 - The Oregonian

Cities Need To Be Built For People, Not Cars

<p>With observations from six world cities on four continents, the new book "Endless City" calls for development that supports people and the environment, rather than automobiles.</p>

April 7 - The Hartford Courant

Jobs Needed to Turn the Lower Class Green

<p>A "green-collar job force" made up of low-income people is necessary to get those with fewer resources on the initially costly green living bandwagon, according to civil rights lawyer Van Jones.</p>

April 7 - Good

Parking Violations Could Generate $100 Million for San Francisco

<p>San Francisco is considering a plan to boost its fees for parking violations -- a move that could end up bringing in a total of $100 million in revenues from the pockets of illegal parkers.</p>

April 7 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Water Supply Crisis Facing 36 States

<p>Rising temperatures, shrinking ice packs and the salinization of coastal fresh water sources are all contributing to a growing water crisis in the United States.</p>

April 7 - Natural News

How Housing Choices Affect Climate Change

<p>NPR's Climate Connections series explores how American's lifestyles affect climate change. In this first of two articles, Elizabeth Shogren introduces an Emory University researcher who moves out of Atlanta into her 'dream house' in the suburbs.</p>

April 7 - National Public Radio

Livin' La Vida Localism

<p>In this article from <em>Metropolis</em>, dystopian author and urban critic James Howard Kunstler riffs on localism.</p>

April 7 - Metropolis Magazine

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City of Wisconsin Rapids

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FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.