The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>A new wave of public street furniture has rolled out in New York City, including bus shelters, newsstands, and automatic public toilets. Some are unsure whether the new designs will be accepted by a city already overwhelmed with visual individualism.</p>

January 16 - International Herald Tribune

<p>A public park and art space is set to open next week along Seattle's waterfront, replacing a former brownfield site. The new Olympic Sculpture Park was created by the Seattle Art Museum, an expansion of which is set to open in May.</p>

January 15 - International Herald Tribune

<p>The cost effective Katrina Cottage continues its evolution in the form of a schoolhouse.</p>

January 15 - Huntersville Herald

<p>San Francisco's new light rail line, the 5-mile T-Third, opened for free, weekend service Jan 13. The service is intended to revitalize the sagging south-east neighborhoods, but some bus riders question the new line. Daily service begins April 7.</p>

January 15 - The San Francisco Chronicle

<p>At almost 30 years of age, L.A.'s rent control ordinance is a double-edged sword -- reviled by some and relied upon by others.</p>

January 15 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>The historic city of Isfahan, Iran, has destroyed scores of 400-year old buildings to make way for new roads and shopping centers.</p>

January 15 - BBC

<p>As new developments consume agricultural lands in the fast-growing South, the cooperatives that cater to farmers feel the pinch. While some can 'retool' by selling pet food and lawn fertilizer, others must close as another casualty to sprawl.</p>

January 15 - AP via Daily Press (Hampton Roads, Virginia)

<p>A master plan proposed to protect almost a million acres of wetlands in New Jersey is meeting opposition from area farmers who fear the plan's limitation on development and certain farming practices will render their land worthless.</p>

January 15 - WFMZ-TV

<p>While they flourish in Asia, huge shopping malls are losing their popularity in the U.S. to big box retailers. One way developers are reacting is by recreating the formerly all-commercial shopping experience to include a mix of uses.</p>

January 15 - MSNBC

<p>In the face of a severe housing shortage, a plan has been proposed in New Delhi, India, to rewrite the city's building requirements to allow for buildings to rise higher and house more.</p>

January 15 - Hindustan Times

<p>A small Delta town near Sacramento is pushing a state commission to loosen barriers on development in an area set aside in the '90s to protect agricultural land, the area's migratory bird life, and water resources that provide for much of the state.</p>

January 15 - The Sacramento Union

<p>Smyth Lai, a reference librarian in Portland, Oregon, offers his review of leading resources for planning students and scholars.</p>

January 14 - Association of College & Research Libraries

<p>Citing real estate growth for both the decadent and the practical, urban planners are predicted to be in high demand for 2007.</p>

January 14 - Fast Company

<p>Despite all the problems associated with urban sprawl and city growth, Christopher Flavin of the environmental research group Worldwatch Institute says they hold the key to solving climate change in this audio report from <em>Marketplace</em>.</p>

January 14 - Marketplace

<p>Proposed design standards in Fayetteville, Arkansas, have developers concerned about rising costs and requirements. Many in the state's third most populous city fear the standards will hamper new development, especially smaller projects.</p>

January 14 - The Morning News

<p>R.T. Rybak, mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota, has pushed for budget funding to look into the possibility of building streetcar lines in the city's downtown. This article discusses the varied responses of the city's residents.</p>

January 14 - Southwest Journal

<p>Dialogues in Urban and Regional Planning (Volume 2) offers an international perspective on planning and seeks to overcome regional isolation in planning research.</p>

January 13 - Routledge / Global Planning Education Association Network

<p>This editorial from the <em>San Francisco Examiner</em> discusses why the planning system is not public-friendly, and by reducing public hearing and reporting requirements, the process will be less intimidating to the public.</p>

January 13 - San Francisco Examiner

<p>Transportation consultants prepared an analysis of where Manhattan's traffic originates, reasons for commuting by car, and why motorists drive through Manhattan (it's not only to get to Manhattan destinations). No solutions were offered, just data.</p>

January 13 - The New York Times

<p>This audio report from NPR describes "smart elevator" technology that is slowly moving its way into the U.S. in places like elevator-dependent New York City. These new elevators group passengers into different elevators based on their destination.</p>

January 13 - National Public Radio