The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Chris Bentley explains how San Antonio's Beaux Arts federal courthouse became an unlikely paragon of the GSA's sustainability efforts while balancing a sensitive historic renovation.

April 7 - The Architect's Newspaper

A recent interview with the acclaimed designer and theorist, and an online petition, have reignited the debate over whether Denise Scott Brown deserved to be awarded the Pritzker Prize along with her long-time collaborator Robert Venturi.

April 7 - ArchDaily

The NewsHour's Judy Woodruff asks pointed questions to Anthony Swift, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Andy Black, president of the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, about the latest spill involving oil sands crude. The two agree on little.

April 6 - PBS NewsHour

Joe Nickol pens a paean to the often overlooked sidewalk: "our neighborhood's breadwinner, bringing vitality, safety, and economy."

April 6 - Sustainable Cities Collective

As the "new tech capital of the world," San Francisco's SoMA district is facing development pressures that challenge the city's often petty planning process, while providing an opportunity to reconsider what the city could become.

April 6 - Huff Post

D.C.'s decade of prosperity and growth has been accompanied by a wave of development and displacement that is now threatening to submerge its inner-ring suburbs. Robert McCartney examines the consequences.

April 6 - The Washington Post

Miami’s housing stock can be characterized generally to encompass single family homes and condos. Between these two options, however, other choices are lacking.

April 6 - Global Site Plans - The Grid

FEATURE

Several trends are conspiring to challenge America's ability to house and care for its senior citizens. Utilizing successful examples, architect and planner Eric C.Y. Fang examines how the suburbs can be adapted to support an aging population.

April 5 - Eric C.Y. Fang

Ever wonder what downtown Boston looked like on the eve of the Civil War? This photograph taken from a hot air balloon by James Wallace Black is thought to be the oldest aerial photo still in existence. Google Earth eat your heart out.

April 5 - Smithsonian

ArtPlace, the creative placemaking collaboration, has announced its inaugural list of the top small town art scenes in the United States. The dozen communities selected for recognition include Crested Butte, CO, Vineyard Haven, MA, and Taos, NM.

April 5 - ArtPlace

John Metcalfe looks at the frightening incidents of violence being directed at bicyclists using Minneapolis' popular Midtown Greenway.

April 5 - The Atlantic Cities

The role of access to fresh food in contributing to people's eating habits has been at the heart of efforts to identify and eliminate 'food deserts.' However, a new study questions the connection between obesity and the food environment.

April 5 - Los Angeles Times

Mark Andrew Boyer looks at the work of San Francisco's "municipal cart auditors" a team of city employed trash diggers who scour the city's cans for scofflaw sorters as part of a broader effort to become 100-percent "waste-free" by 2020.

April 5 - The Atlantic Cities

Unbounded by budgetary concerns, lengthy approvals processes, or NIMBY neighbors, China is building 100 new airports over the next two years. Does their process offer any lessons for how to fix America's crumbling air infrastructure?

April 5 - The New York Times

For years, the Watts Towers have suffered from problems small and large: bits of decorative glass and pottery falling to the ground; cracks snaking their way through the structures and growing longer over time. A new effort aims for lasting fixes.

April 5 - Los Angeles Times

As the city's controversial mayor snickers at proposals for new funding sources for transit, Toronto is missing out on another opportunity to build a big-city mass transit system, says Marcus Gee. How much will it cost the city in the long run?

April 5 - The Globe and Mail

In this op-ed, Arthur B. Laffer and Stephen Moore analyze the recent Census findings showing renewed migration from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and Southwest. They note the movement is clearly from blue states to red, and explain why.

April 5 - The Wall Street Journal

With a footprint estimated as 2.8 million square feet, and a budget said to be approaching $5 billion, Apple's new corporate campus is certain to make a statement. But as investors grow restless over falling share prices, just what will it say?

April 5 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Glenn Fleishman profiles MapBox, whose 30 employees are taking on the big boys in the development of interactive street and satellite maps. The company is working with Charlie Loyd to develop "the most beautiful, clean map ever made."

April 4 - The Economist

Long rumored plans to merge L.A.'s Department of City Planning with Building and Safety to cut costs and streamline permitting are coming into focus, as the outgoing mayor tries to push through the reforms before he leaves office.

April 4 - Los Angeles Downtown News