The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Europe's four years of austerity are taking a toll not just on residents who are suffering from an unraveling of the Continent's famous social welfare programs, but the political parties that created them as some seek solutions from fringe groups.

June 15 - The New York Times - Sunday Observer

Google Faces is a fun, and slightly freaky, project that plays off of humans' penchant for seeing faces in everything by testing if a computer could do the same.

June 14 - Wired

By removing auto traffic from two key streets, the plan for a 10-acre park in the heart of downtown Cleveland seeks to weave together the city's 'lackluster' Public Square and help boost a downtown revival.

June 14 - The Architect's Newspaper

Counter to the predictions of mass chaos due to inexperienced riders being unleashed on city streets, the launch of bike-sharing in New York and elsewhere increases safety for all cyclists.

June 14 - The New York Times

Following a lengthy late night meeting with demonstrators, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to halt construction of a controversial redevelopment project pending the outcome of an ongoing court case and possible public referendum.

June 14 - Los Angeles Times

BLOG POST

Building intensity can do just about everything: make a city budget more resilient, conserve land, and encourage infill. And possibly make your morning omelet.

June 14 - Norman Wright

New York City is marking its continued recovery from Superstorm Sandy with redesigned beach signs.

June 14 - Atlantic Cities

This week, outgoing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa kicked off an ambitious five-year effort to revise L.A.'s outdated and unwieldy zoning code. The goal of the project is to create an accessible guide for transforming Los Angeles.

June 14 - Daily News Los Angeles

The demographic milestone shows how the U.S. is quickly becoming a nation of minorities - and also shows the rapid aging and lower birth rates of the white, non-hispanic demographic. However, due to immigration, the total white population increased.

June 14 - USA Today

Even if the swelling modern metropolis doesn't reflect the gleaming city of science fiction, Edwin Heathcote finds much to be optimistic about with regard to the future of cities on a rapidly urbanizing planet.

June 14 - The Financial Times

A new study out of Colorado State University suggests that suburban homebuyers are willing to pay more for a house in a subdivision that includes protected land.

June 14 - Urban Land

An unprovoked attack on a bicycle commuter by as many as 15 youths in Washington D.C. this week is raising questions about the safety of one of the city's most popular bike routes.

June 14 - The Washington Post

Cleveland resident Anne Trubek notes a change in the city's zeitgeist. Whereas decades of disinvestment once led to cheerleading, today's mood is more proactive. A sense of civic obligation reflects an exciting but anxious time in the city's history.

June 13 - Next City

A looming $205 million budget shortfall due to sequester-related federal funding cuts have the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) preparing to make drastic cuts to staff and programs.

June 13 - Crain's New York Business

The City of San Francisco announced this week that the numerous sharing economy companies headquartered in the the Bay Area will work with public officials to utilize their technologies in enhancing the city's disaster preparedness and response.

June 13 - City of San Francisco

It turns out New York isn't the only large city struggling to get its heralded bike-share system off the ground. Chicago's rush to launch Divvy has hit a snag, delaying the program's launch by two weeks.

June 13 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

Rick Cole, former City Manager for the City of Ventura CA, analyzes the upcoming merger of the Department of City Planning with the Department of Building and Safety in the City of Los Angeles.

June 13 - The Planning Report

Architects and architecture critics from across the nation gathered in New York last week to remember the first lady of architecture criticism, Ada Louise Huxtable, who died in January.

June 13 - Architect

The research wing of the non-profit think tank Future Cape Town has produced an infographic that provides valuable insight into the mobility patterns found in some of Africa's largest cities. Less sustainable options are growing, raising concerns.

June 13 - Future Cape Town

Using complex transportation modeling, new research published in the Journal of Planning Education and Research confirms that developments built to the standards of LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) reduce driving and associated emissions.

June 13 - NRDC Switchboard Blog