The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

With $40 billion in federal dollars at stake for protecting New Orleans from future flooding, Congress is forming a special commission to oversee the allocation of the funds.

October 7 - CNN

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is welcoming new urbanist professionals from across the nation to an unprecedented "mega-charrette" for rebuilding many of the hardest-hit communities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

October 7 - New Urban News

New Orleans city officials are outraged over FEMA's about-face that would have provided housing for over 6,000 displaced workers.

October 7 - The Wall Street Journal

As urban schools decline, those who can afford it head for ever-expanding, land-consuming 'burbs. The flight of the affluent drains urban schools of funding. We can break the cycle, says Dan Akst.

October 7 - Grist Magazine

New York City increases subway security after a "specific" threat to the city's subway is announced.

October 7 - CNN

City property maintenance inspectors find that they are better able to view property code violations on bikes rather than in cars, saving tax dollars on gas and reducing emmissions.

October 6 - The Chicago Tribune

TPR interviews Dwayne Mears of the California-based Planning Center, who offers guidance on how to comply with the school district regulations and to build better, more effective schools.

October 6 - The Planning Report

Business owners in London complain of a drop in profits and oppose an expansion of the congestion charge zone.

October 6 - BBC

State-led lawsuits and environmental initiatives are changing the face of US environmental regulation.

October 6 - The Christian Science Monitor

A major revitalization of downtown Los Angeles leaves skid row residents with far fewer choices in housing, and has led to accusations of 'dumping' the homeless.

October 6 - The Los Angeles Times

Architect and smart code expert Ann Daigle resigns suddenly from Ventura's planning department to join Andres Duany's CNU-sponsored rebuilding effort.

October 6 - Ventura County Star

As Americans are forced to spend more time commuting, the question must be asked 'what have highways done to improve quality of life?'

October 6 - The Baltimore Sun

The WSJ profiles developer Jim Koman of Koman Properties Inc., and questions whether eminent domain is the only realistic tool for growth in severely depressed urban areas like East St. Louis.

October 6 - The Wall Street Journal

Could taxing people on their anticipated road use be a more equitable way to pay for roads and related infrastructure? Would it reduce car dependancy in the long term?

October 6 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinal

Can the United States expect a future filled with disasters on the order of Katrinas and Ritas? 'Are we prepared to lose a major city every year?'

October 6 - Chicago Sun-Times

A geologist's controversial theory that the oil in Alberta's tar sands flowed from coal fields based on ancient peat, could mean that there are vast supplies of oil waiting to be discovered, not just in Alberta but all over the world.

October 5 - The Globe and Mail

Many different planning factions are fighting to have their say in the long process of rebuilding New Orleans.

October 5 - The Boston Globe

India's retail industry is undergoing a dramatic transformation as the middle class flocks to shopping malls and foreign investors are poised to move in.

October 5 - BBC World Service

In order to rebuild a sustainable New Orleans, much of it will have to be destroyed -- a process that has both sides of the preservation fence scrambling to make their voices heard.

October 5 - The Los Angeles Times

Lior Hessel, CEO of OrganiTech, has a vision to turn empty storage containers into high-rise organic farms.

October 5 - Wired