The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Study finds gated communities are not much more secure than ungated subdivisions.

October 14 - The Orlando Sentinel

A new book, Deep Water, sheds light on the drama of dams.

October 14 - Grist Magazine

Albany struggles with the challenges of historic preservation. Despite progress, some are worried about failure to capitalize on heritage tourism.

October 14 - Metroland

Suburbanites are about 35 per cent more likely to be obese than their urban counterparts. Can obesity be solved through economic incentives and disincentives for development?

October 14 - The Globe and Mail

After 10 years, it appears Ventura County's Save Open-space & Agricultural Resources (SOAR) effort -- a unique urban growth boundaries initiative -- is working. Why haven't they been duplicated elsewhere?

October 13 - The Los Angeles Times

Political parties see the Gulf as a lab for their policy ideas. There's room for many of them, but not all, writes the CSM on their editorial pages.

October 13 - The Christian Science Monitor

Community design costs, big-box retailers, mobile homes, and casinos are just a few of the many challenges that await the new urbanists who were selected to lead the rebuilding of the Missippi gulf coast.

October 13 - USA Today

A team of 100 architects and planners from 50 design firms, and led by Andres Duany, are converting on South Mississippi for the Mississippi Renewal Forum.

October 13 - Sun Herald

The collapse of the New Orleans' levee system is just one example of how the nation's urban infrastructure is deteriorating. Where are the visionaries that built America's greatest cities?

October 13 - The New York Times

In the right location, even plastic grass can make a successful public space.

October 13 - The Washington Post

A photo essay visits megachurches and uncovers surprising trends in modern church architecture.

October 13 - Slate

The chairman of the House Resources Committee wants to sell off national resources

October 13 - The Slatin Report

Charrette conducted by planning firm Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. generates ideas for improving downtown.

October 13 - The Roanoke Times

From the garish to the sublime, from Palm Beach to Arkansas, the homes of the world's richest people offer something for everyone. [Includes a slide show.]

October 13 - Forbes

There's a rare opportunity to rebuild the Gulf Coast region in such a way that it will succeed on all levels -- but the right plans have to be in place before building begins.

October 12 - The Houston Chronicle

This southern California county employs a different type of urban growth boundary. Rather than forbidding development outside the UGB, such developments are determined by the electorate.

October 12 - The Los Angeles Times

North Americans learn sustainability methods and models from Sweden's eco-municipalities which use a democratic planning process called the Natural Step framework.

October 12 - Sustainable Business

The 2005 Nobel Prize in economic sciences is awarded to theorist Thomas C. Schelling of the University of Maryland for his work in game-theory.

October 12 - The Wall Street Journal

A Utah visionary points the way to regionalism and public transit in Michigan.

October 12 - Michigan Land Use Institute

Business Week explores whether higher energy prices signify the beginning of the end for exurban development, or whether exurbs have become an integral part of the American economic system.

October 12 - BusinessWeek