The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>The Bay Area received $158 million from a federal congestion pricing program for improvements to traffic, transit, and parking, but it is conditional upon San Francisco and California legislative approval for the controversial tolls on Doyle Drive.</p>

August 16 - San Francisco Examiner

<p>In this interview, urbanist Mike Davis talks about the rapidly growing emirate of Dubai.</p>

August 16 - Ink by the Barrel

<p>The wave of condo conversions in the Seattle area is hitting seniors especially hard.</p>

August 16 - The Seattle Times

<p>This piece from <em>The Roanoke Times</em> laments the coming of a Wal-Mart Supercenter, and blasts the planning process that let a proposed mixed-use walkable town center transform into a "big-box juggernaut".</p>

August 16 - The Roanoke Times

<p>As more cyclists and runners use the streets of Los Angeles, incidents of road rage and accidents are on the rise.</p>

August 15 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>A history of speedbumps have hindered transit funding in Minnesota, but after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, the state's roads may finally get the maintenance money they need.</p>

August 15 - Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune

<p>Can globalization change the world's poorest neighborhoods?</p>

August 15 - The Washington Post Writers Group

<p>With a surge in population and some large-scale retail and entertainment complexes in the works, downtown L.A. is in the midst of a major urban shift. But as this column from the <em>Los Angeles Times</em> argues, developers are shaping the growth.</p>

August 15 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>Two civic groups in Washington D.C.'s Chinatown are battling over a proposal to close an alleyway to allow the development of offices. Opponents argue the plan is short-sighted, while others say an economic boost will save the struggling district.</p>

August 15 - The Washington Post

<p>Plans to redevelop a harbor are under consideration in Victoria, British Columbia, but would require the relocation of a busy ferry terminal -- one of the harbor's top services. The ferry's operators say the redevelopment would fail without them.</p>

August 15 - Times Colonist

<p>Investors are taking advantage of tax breaks offered for developing and buying property in hurricane-affected areas of the Gulf region, such as the hot condo market that has sprung up next to a college football stadium in Alabama.</p>

August 15 - Associated Press via The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

<p>With major roadwork underway on a stretch of heavily-used Interstate 5 in Seattle, many commuters chose public transit to avoid the resulting congestion. But many are wondering whether commuters will keep using transit after the work is done.</p>

August 15 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

<p>Two Roanoke City Councilmembers explain why they voted against an $880,000 city grant to a local developer and propose a more objective approach to offering development incentives.</p>

August 15 - The Roanoke Times

<p>New research is showing that the ancient Cambodian city of Angkor was once a sprawling and intricately irrigated metropolis of nearly one million people.</p>

August 15 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>Despite busts in residential construction, American cities such as Phoenix are managing to continue growing due to an influx of commercial construction.</p>

August 14 - The Wall Street Journal

<p>Three mixed-use, walkable urban villages near Seattle have become very popular with residents since their creation in the '80s and '90s. But while small businesses prosper and home vacancies remain low, few jobs are available.</p>

August 14 - The Seattle Times

<p>More than $83 million will be slashed from Toronto's annual budget, and many, including the mayor, predict a sharp cut to services and the city's general quality of life.</p>

August 14 - The Toronto Star

<p>Collective action and micro financing are two promising models for improving the livability of informal settlements, writes Neal Peirce.</p>

August 14 - The Seattle Times

<p>The design competition for San Francisco's Transbay Terminal has the potential to redefine the city, writes John King.</p>

August 14 - The San Francisco Chronicle

BLOG POST

<p> The <a href="http://www.bauhinia.org">Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre</a>, a think tank close to Hong Kong governor Donald Tsang, has just released a <a href="http://www.bauhinia.org/publications/BFRC-HKSZ-ES-ENG.pdf">report</a> arguing that it might make sense for Hong Kong and Shenzhen to merge into a single metropolitan entity. According to <em>The Economist</em> Cities Guide email update (one of the magazine&#39;s best services for subscribers and a most for global urban trendwatches): </p>

August 14 - Anthony Townsend