The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Over the weekend it was announced that 71-year-old Japanese architect Toyo Ito has won this year's Pritzker Prize, the most prestigious award in the field. The jury honored Ito for combining "conceptual innovation with superbly executed buildings."

March 18 - Los Angeles Times

BLOG POST

Do skyscrapers cause 9-to-5 business districts?

March 17 - Michael Lewyn

Did the rezoning of the Williamsburg waterfront backfire? Stephen Jacob Smith reflects on the lack of transition between the neighborhood's skyscraping waterfront and its low-rise inland, a missing middle mandated by recent upzoning.

March 17 - New York Observer

With 35.5 million Americans claiming at least some Irish ancestry (five times more than the population of Ireland), you've got a pretty good chance of finding an Irishman or woman to kiss if you know where to look in the United States.

March 17 - The Huffington Post

Lamar Anderson offers a window into some promising extremely inexpensive housing solutions that engage the user in the design and construction process.

March 17 - Architectural Record

Juliet Eilperin reports that the Obama administration's much lauded proposal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants will miss an upcoming deadline for finalization, and will likely be revisited.

March 17 - The Washington Post

Kaid Benfield suggest 5 ways to "rock the Irish green" in honor of St. Paddy's Day. If you can't experience the holiday on the Emerald Isle, you can at least partake in an appreciation of the country's environmental efforts with these suggestions.

March 17 - NRDC Switchboard

Susan Brantley of Penn State University and Anna Meyendorff of University of Michigan pen this op-ed to assess the pros and cons of fracking for natural gas. How does fracking compare to obtaining energy from other sources? Do the facts warrant bans?

March 16 - The New York Times - The Opinion Pages

Falcons owner Arthur Blank and city leaders in Atlanta are pushing to build a new $1 billion football stadium to replace the 20-year-old publicly-financed Georgia Dome. Amid tight budgets some elected officials are concerned with the plan.

March 16 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It what would be a significant policy shift that could impact major projects that are subject to federal oversight, the Obama administration is expected to guide all federal agencies to consider the impact on global warming in their NEPA reviews.

March 16 - Bloomberg

Apparently, "one of the oldest home styles in the world" is making a comeback. Alyssa Abkowitz looks at the growing trend in incorporating courtyards into new home designs.

March 16 - The Wall Street Journal

Lori Rotenberk reports on a new seven-acre urban “accelerator farm” announced yesterday by Mayor Rahm Emanuel that seeks to fill Chicago's farmer drought and deepens the city's investment in building its agricultural sector.

March 16 - Grist

For American University's Eco-Comedy Film Competition, the DC-based comedy crew Dunk Your Bagel have produced a humorous take on a serious challenge facing cities across America: how to persuade residents to reduce their use of plastic bags.

March 15 - DCist

From plans to maximize development opportunities around bustling Union Station to newly operating congestion pricing schemes and rail lines that have shattered ridership expectations, Los Angeles is making progress towards a transit-rich future.

March 15 - Los Angeles Times

At a visit to the Argonne National Laboratory today, President Obama was expected to unveil his plan to spend $2 billion in oil and gas revenues "to find ways to replace hydrocarbons as the primary fuel for the nation’s cars, trucks and buses."

March 15 - The New York Times

While experts opine on what the city of the future will look like, Santander "has surged to the forefront of those aspiring to be smart." With 10,000 sensors collecting data and a custom app serving residents, the city is showing how smart is done.

March 15 - Spiegel Online

Japan is looking to unleash a new source of natural gas in the same way that fracking and horizontal drilling has revolutionized natural gas drilling in the U.S. It's called methane hydrate or 'flammable ice', and is the most prevalent energy source.

March 15 - The New York Times

Much attention has been paid recently to the challenges that a changing climate are bringing to coastal communities. But "inland empires" aren't immune. Phoenix's struggles with heat, drought, and violent winds are a presage of things to come.

March 15 - Los Angeles Times

As SHoP unveils massive redevelopment plans for the Domino Factory site in Williamsburg, Su Friedrich rails against the gentrification that has already transformed the neighborhood in her film Gut Renovation, which premiered at Film Forum last week.

March 15 - Architectural Record

Claire Martin examines research conducted by engineering firm Arup and the Clinton Climate Initiative into the actions that cities are taking to reduce their emissions and identifies five cities, including one surprise, that are leading the charge.

March 15 - Smithsonian