The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Declining rental vacancy rates and increased interest in urban living are putting upwards pressure on housing prices throughout the country. But 2012 wasn't all bad news for attempts to retain and expand affordable housing in American cities.

January 7 - Rooflines

With bicycling growing in popularity while driving decreases, should a city install "bicycle-specific traffic signals"? Mary Ebeling of State Smart Transportation Initiatives provides guidance and helpful designs from city transportation officials.

January 6 - The State Smart Transportation Initiative

As this video from The Perennial Plate, a web series about sustainable food, demonstrates, rooftop gardening is becoming a global phenomenon.

January 6 - The Atlantic

A new study out of England provides the first "holistic assessment" linking school design to learning rates. "[S]chool layouts can influence a child’s development by as much as 25 percent over the course of an academic year," reports Ian Steadman.

January 6 - Wired UK

An award-winning street redesign project in the Los Angeles exurb of Lancaster provides a case study in the value of retrofitting for walkability.

January 6 - NRDC Switchboard

L.A. Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne reports on the changing nature of Lankershim Blvd., which appears to be at a crossroads between integrating transit into a multi-modal future or turning to outdated planning strategies.

January 6 - Los Angeles Times

A recent headline in The New York Times said it all: "Gas Drilling Is Called Safe in New York." But, according to Philip Bump, the leaked report that was the basis for the article was filled with so many caveats and outdated info as to be useless.

January 5 - Grist

Adapting to extreme weather events resulting from climate change has largely taken the form of infrastructure engineering, e.g building flood doors for subways or reinforcing sand dunes, but what of 'social adaptation' for residents themselves?

January 5 - The New Yorker

The difficulties food truck operators have encountered in trying to set up shop in Chicago provides a parable for how well meaning, but slow moving and cumbersome, public agencies can get in the way of their city's best interests.

January 5 - Chicago Tribune

In case anyone thought that developers were the only bad actors seeking to profit off of contentious projects, confidential settlement terms leaked to Curbed show how local groups abuse the California Environmental Quality Act for dubious gains.

January 5 - Curbed LA

In Hong Kong, new government policies to curb real estate speculation in housing markets have led investors to turn elsewhere for quick, lucrative profits - the market for parking spaces.

January 5 - Los Angeles Times - Business

With college bowl season well underway (and reaching its climax on Monday) and the NFL playoffs starting this weekend, football fever is sweeping America. Richard Florida looks at which cities can boast the most rabid fan bases.

January 4 - The Atlantic Cities

Elevator technology developed in the 19th century made the advent of skyscrapers possible. Now that skyscraper construction is rebounding after the recession, can vertical transport systems keep up with developers' and designers' lofty visions?

January 4 - Bloomberg

A new exhibit seeks to document the Los Angeles that could have been, had the visionary plans of the past been executed, reports Eric Jaffe.

January 4 - The Atlantic Cities

The Dirt reports on the 2013 landscape architecture graduate and undergraduate program rankings published recently by DesignIntelligence.

January 4 - ASLA The Dirt

Architizer previews the year ahead in global architecture. From the restoration of the Manhattan skyline to a temporary cathedral made of cardboard, the website looks at the projects that will heal, house, and astound in 2013.

January 4 - Architizer

The Yomiuri Shimbun reports on plans to elevate the ground level in urban areas that were inundated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, prior to rebuilding. One town will elevate its land by 17 meters (55 feet).

January 4 - The Daily Yomiuri

The Census Bureau may revise questions about race and ethnicity on the 2020 survey to improve the accuracy of data on minority groups. Recent data shows a difference between how the government identifies such groups and how they identify themselves.

January 4 - National Public Radio

In the Virginia suburbs outside of D.C., the radical plan to reshape auto-oriented Tysons Corner into vibrant, walkable Tysons is going ahead, despite skepticism that the monumental task can be accomplished, reports Corinne Reilly.

January 4 - The Washington Post

Like a lot of people, Placeshakers is kicking off the new year with a list: placemaking wishes for 2013. Read on for seven trending ideas they hope break large.

January 4 - PlaceShakers