The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Digital Urban Planning: Take Control of Your City's Digital Future

How much of a role does your city play in controlling its digital representation? Colin Wood examines the efforts of Louisville's director of innovation to link the city's assets digitally and integrate them with the prevailing platforms.

April 9 - Government Technology

Variety of Rebuilding Approaches Befuddle Sandy Victims

The lack of a single strategy for how to protect the areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy from future storms leaves residents to choose between two unappealing options: rebuild in place and risk future disaster or abandon their neighborhoods.

April 9 - Bloomberg

Is It OK Now to Have More Babies?

For those concerned about world population, a new study from Spain rebuts prior studies, including the U.N. 2011 report that project population reaching 10 billion by 2100. The new report projects it peaking at 8 billion in 2050, then declining.

April 9 - The Atlantic Cities

Can L.A. Turn its Storm Water Headache into a Drinking Water Solution?

In its enduring quest to slake its immense thirst, and protect its beautiful beaches, Los Angeles leaders are putting forth an ambitious proposal to solve two problems with one solution: make runoff drinkable.

April 9 - The New York Times

The Future of Municipal Planning: Is John Nolen Rolling Over in his Grave?

Are today's city planners fulfilling the promise of John Nolen? Howard Blackson explores a profession losing its influence, and ponders how to get it back.

April 9 - PlaceShakers


Heavyweight Fight Brewing Over Future of Madison Square Garden

The "World's Most Famous Arena" has seen many title fights in its day. But a looming decision about the renewal of the venue's special permit, and the future of Penn Station, has New York's political and real estate heavyweights entering the ring.

April 9 - Crain's New York Business

Parsing Margaret Thatcher's Architectural Legacy

According to Anna Winston, the former prime minister's impact on the architecture profession was huge. With the redevelopment of Canary Wharf, for example, her administration gave a leg up to Cesar Pelli, Sir Norman Foster and SOM, among others.

April 9 - Building Design


Economic Competitiveness of the Midwest Relies on Immigration Reform

Cities like St. Louis, where the 44,000 native-born Americans that left in the last decade have been replaced by 31,000 immigrants, offer a case study for why comprehensive immigration reform has a good chance of passing in divided Washington.

April 9 - The Financial Times

Placemaking Confronts Entertainment Initiative in a Downtown L.A. Alleyway

A quaint downtown L.A. alleyway celebrated for its Old World charm has been cleared of its outdoor dining facilities to ease access to a rehabilitated theater's loading dock. Can an equitable compromise be found?

April 8 - Los Angeles Times

Minneapolis Stone Arch Bridge

America's Safest Cities

Gallup has published the results of its survey of the cities deemed safest by their residents. The results closely track the FBI's violent crime rates.

April 8 - Gallup Wellbeing

The Next Step in Downtown Pittsburgh's Resurgence: Build More Parking?

With an approaching mayoral transition, Mark Belko looks at what Pittsburgh's next leader will need to focus on to keep downtown's rejuvenation rolling. Should building more parking be at the top of the list?

April 8 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Inequality Finds a Home in the Suburbs

Through the lens of the Los Angeles region, Becky M. Nicolaides and Andrew Wiese examine how America's suburbs sustain and reinforce inequality.

April 8 - The New York Times

The Paradox of the EPA's Clean Fuel Rules

The EPA's newly proposed rules to reduce sulfur in gasoline may have the perverse effect of making alternative vehicles, that is, those that don't run on gasoline, less competitive with conventional vehicles and ensure that we remain addicted to oil.

April 8 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

Transformation of D.C. Area Commute On Track for This Year

With construction of the D.C. subway system's newest extension 90 percent complete, the Silver Line is set to transform the region's transportation patterns, and Northern Virginia's in particular.

April 8 - The Washington Post

3D Printing

How Will 3D Printing Change the World's Cities?

Shrinking ports, less noxious trucks on our roads, and more self-sufficient towns. Neal Peirce describes the changes that 3D printing may bring to our lives. Will it be comparable to "the steam engine, the light bulb, atomic energy, the microchip?"

April 8 - Citiwire.net

Why We Should Forget That Fukushima Ever Happened

Nuclear power has saved 370 times more lives than it has ended in the last four decades, says a NASA paper. Despite the horrors of Japan's ongoing nuclear disaster, we'll need to rely on nuclear power for the sake of the environment and human health.

April 8 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Does Walkability Equal Walking?

Using data from the Women’s Health Initiative, a new study reveals that a walkable environment may not be enough to get people to walk more.

April 8 - KPLU

Interest in City-Center Living a Key to Integrating Cape Town

Twenty years after the end of apartheid in South Africa, Cape Town is preparing to become World Design Capital. Zoe Dare Hall looks at the coastal city's burgeoning real estate market, which reflects two decades of integrative planning.

April 8 - Financial Times

San Diego Rail

San Diego's Omission from High-Speed Rail: Customary Curse or Blessing in Disguise?

Is California's High-Speed Rail (HSR) a "boondoggle" for the state, as its critics assert, or just a boondoggle for omitted cities? How should such cities deal with omission from HSR? San Diego is a case in point.

April 7 - UrbDeZine.com

Cars are the Cholesterol of Buenos Aires’ Veins

The problem of increasing congestion is plaguing the development of the city of Buenos Aires, not to mention the deleterious effects on residents' quality of life.

April 7 - Global Site Plans - The Grid

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