The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

With the traditional metrics of retail economics and geography being undermined by the Internet, businesses are searching for new ways to reach potential customers. Astute business owners in Portland are recognizing the value in good bike exposure.

March 6 - Green Lane Project

The first bus rapid transit route in the D.C. metro area will start serving passengers in Northern Virginia as early as Spring 2014.

March 6 - The Washington Post

Jennifer Keesmaat is "on her way to becoming modern Toronto’s first celebrity bureaucrat," says Marcus Gee, who profiles the city's new chief planner. Can she succeed in her quest for change without offending those whose support she'll need?

March 6 - Globe and Mail

As aging baby boomers enter retirement and seek to downsize from their large single-family homes (the "great senior sell-off") they'll find a housing market increasingly uninterested in what they're selling, says researcher Arthur C. Nelson.

March 5 - The Atlantic Cities

A new report out from the Census Bureau paints a comprehensive picture of commuting in the United States. Average commute times remain steady, but the most significant change may be in the percentage of people working from home at least once a week.

March 5 - The Washington Post

After a decade of waiting, today's the day planning geeks have been waiting for. SimCity has arrived! To celebrate, Fast Company has assembled "some of the most interesting urban thinkers...to see who would make the best fake metropolis."

March 5 - Fast Company Co.Exist

The Spanish city of Pontevedra has developed an innovative, and attractive, map of pedestrian connections based on the color-coded subway maps common to cities around the world; burnishing its reputation as "a leader in walker-friendly urban policy."

March 5 - POLIS

It was the first of many lawsuits to hit the HSRA. Menlo Park and Atherton, joined later by Palo Alto - three adjoining cities on the San Mateo County/Santa Clara County border, among the wealthiest in the nation, sued in 2008 to reroute the train.

March 5 - San Jose Mercury News

Building incrementally over time allows cities and towns to develop more interesting landscapes while incurring less debt. The slow evolution of Seaside, Florida is a prime example of the benefits of 'patient urbanism.'

March 5 - Original Green

While some agree that the plan has financial merit, others fear the social costs of mixing incomes in public housing neighborhoods. The authority's chairman sees it as a win-win.

March 5 - City Limits

As had been rumored, President Obama formally announced Ernest Moniz as his nominee for energy secretary and Gina McCarthy as EPA administrator on Monday. The nominees have attracted criticism from both sides of the aisle.

March 5 - The Washington Post

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is looking to technology to help Americans learn more about fair housing practices and make it easier to file complaints about discrimination.

March 5 - The Washington Post

Alan G. Brake outlines the redesigned plans to develop the site of the historic Domino Sugar refinery along Brooklyn's East River waterfront. The $1.5 billion plan is the latest, and perhaps last, turn in the site's tortured redevelopment saga.

March 5 - The Architect's Newspaper

Adam Nossiter reports on the latest episode in Lagos's quest to become a "premier business center" - the demolition of the Badia East slum, which instantly left 10,000 residents homeless.

March 4 - The New York Times

Throughout the history of planning, compelling visuals have been essential to communicating the concepts established in "our most influential plans," says Howard Blackson. That tradition continues in New Urban placemaking endeavors.

March 4 - PlaceShakers

Just as the debate over the planned rezoning of the Midtown East neighborhood ossified into two strongly opposed camps, the city has provided more details on their recommendations and outlined an ambitious schedule for public review.

March 4 - Crain's New York Business

Since it began in 1999, Toronto's condo boom has added 120,000 units to the city and, in the process, transformed its urban landscape. City leaders are just now beginning to address how to accommodate these new residents.

March 4 - The Globe and Mail

Ever wonder how the layout of some of television's most famous domiciles might be depicted in the hands of a professional? Look no further, interior designer Iñaki Aliste Lizarralde has you covered.

March 4 - Laughing Squid

With its surging job and population growth, and high retail sales, downtown Chicago is outperforming the suburbs for the first time in decades. Perhaps more than any other city in the country, it reflects the inversion of the post-war paradigm.

March 4 - Crain's Chicago Business

Montgomery County, Maryland is confronting a conundrum common to inner-ring suburbs now facing development pressures. How to make the case for protecting mid-century buildings that some consider too young, or "too plain or ugly," to preserve.

March 4 - The Washington Post