The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>De facto master planning by Federal Government creates more sprawl in the Washington, D.C. region. For example, the FBI field office is moving from Tyson's Corner to Manassas, farther from the Alexandria courts where federal cases are heard.</p>

November 1 - The Washington Post

<p>A design competition for the new Transbay Terminal in San Francisco anticipates only the most high profile international architects to participate.</p>

October 31 - The San Francisco Chronicle

<p>In a city known for the slogan "Keep Austin Weird," there rages a battle about historic preservation and gentrification, pitting neighbor against neighbor. Jeffrey Chusid shows us how one city tries to maintain its identity in the face of challenge.</p>

October 31 - The Next American City

<p>A Canadian architect has been in the Philippines for the past year designing homes for the country's poorest citizens. His method utilizes whatever building materials can be found to create an easily constructed and long-lasting home.</p>

October 31 - The Globe and Mail

<p>Making cities and urban places more child-friendly was the subject of a recent planning conference in Sydney, Australia. Attendees highlighted some of the ways poor planning can negatively affect childhood development.</p>

October 31 - The Australian

<p>Chesterfield County, Virginia, debates how it will provide needed services to a new 4,886-unit subdivision. Earlier rezoning without cash proffers presents problems for funding adequate school facilities and infrastructure to serve future residents.</p>

October 31 - Richmond Times Dispatch

<p>The controlled growth initiative in Solano County, California, is one of many currently on the ballot in the Bay Area which aim to promote smart growth.</p>

October 31 - The Contra Costa Times

<p>Columbus, Ohio's New Village Place -- winner of the 2006 James B. Recchie Award for Urban Design -- seamlessly marries market-rate and affordable housing with striking designs that respect the historic character and fabric of the neighborhood.</p>

October 31 - The Columbus Dispatch

<p>A new poll of Londoners shows the majority backing a proposal to grant the city's mayor increased power to intervene in the planning process.</p>

October 31 - Ealing Times

<p>A classic Art Deco building in Downtown Baltimore that stood vacant for 15 years has been renovated and updated into one of the area's most extensive uses of green building techniques.</p>

October 31 - E, The Environmental Magazine

<p>In cities across the country, the trend of downtown housing development is booming. Prices per square-foot have more than doubled since last year in some cities.</p>

October 31 - The Denver Post via Chicago Tribune

<p>Experts warn that existing green alternatives are not enough to meeting the world's growing energy demands. But government and private investment in energy research has fallen.</p>

October 31 - The New York Times

<p>A list of the least and most dangerous cities in the United States as ranked by the research and publishing company Morgan Quitno Press.</p>

October 30 - FOX News

<p>Britain calls for urgent action on climate change after the publication of an alarming report by World Bank's chief economist on the impact of global warming.</p>

October 30 - The Financial Times

<p>While many residents agree that the city should intensity, NIMBYism still percolates up in the neighborhoods.</p>

October 30 - The Toronto Star

<p>A wave of gentrification has revived part of the city's riverfront into a hip, urban neighborhood.</p>

October 30 - The Washington Post

<p>High overhead costs are taking up more than half of the budget for reconstruction efforts in Iraq, severely limiting the construction of infrastructure such as water and electricity lines.</p>

October 30 - The New York Times via International Herald Tribune

<p>This opinion piece from the <em>Baltimore Sun</em> calls on the province to shift its planning priorities to include all of its residents, not just the humans.</p>

October 30 - The Baltimore Sun

<p>The amount of oxygen-deprived marine areas has increase by more than 30% over the last two years, an increase that is rapidly decreasing the global food supply -- especially in developing countries.</p>

October 30 - Science

FEATURE

Steven E. Polzin presents some lighthearted observations on Americans' heavyset figures, while examining the relationship between our increasing waistlines and the nation's demand for energy.

October 30 - Steven E. Polzin