The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Richard Florida speaks with sociologist Zachary Neal, author of <em>The Connected City</em>, a new book that examines the essential role that social networks play in defining community.

October 25 - The Atlantic Cities

In addition to making the city's streets safer, the pedestrian plazas, bike lanes and rapid-transit bus system built in New York City over the past several years have been a boon to surrounding businesses finds a new report released this week.

October 25 - The New York Times

For communities or leaders reticent to buy into bold change, "selling change by the slice" through pilot projects can be a great way to get stakeholders on board with a larger vision. Otis White discusses two key components of pilot project success.

October 25 - Otis White Blog

This week, NACTO released a preview of its Urban Street Design Guidebook, a document meant to assist local governments in designing their streets on the principle that they're spaces for people and commerce as well as arteries for traffic.

October 25 - Next American City

"Since the beginning of 2011, 180 bills restricting voting and voter registration have been introduced in 41 states. Over 70% of the electoral votes needed to win the 2012 Presidential election will come from states with new restrictive voting laws."

October 25 - Shelterforce Magazine

BLOG POST

<p> In the 1990s, most public argument about suburban expansion was pretty simple. Environmentalists argued that sprawl increased pollution, while their opponents responded by invoking the free market.   Environmentalists and other sprawl critics (including myself) responded that sprawl is the result less of the free market than of <a href="http://works.bepress.com/lewyn/28/">government subsidy and regulation</a>.  </p> <p> Recently I have started to notice hints of a not-so-libertarian argument for sprawl: that pro-sprawl government policies such as highway construction open up real estate for development, and thus make housing affordable.  </p>

October 25 - Michael Lewyn

A vast expanse of prairies and grasslands, the Great Plains have long been considered a barren wasteland with little potential for growth. A new report by Joel Kotkin, Praxis Strategy Group, and Kevin Mulligan of Texas Tech claims otherwise.

October 25 - New Geography

What might have been a business story about the failure of a local coffee chain - and not a small one at that - to compete against the mighty Starbucks becomes more of a description of what Seattle is all about, and urbanity plays a major role.

October 25 - The New York Times - U.S.

With wind turbines, a "daylighting" system, and charging stations for electric cars, Chicago's Greenway Self-Park bills itself as the city's first "earth friendly parking garage." John Greenfield asks, can a downtown garage truly be eco-friendly?

October 25 - Grid Chicago

Two entrepreneurs and brothers take urban development matters into their own hands. The result? Lured by a contest offering free rent, and the associated buzz, Birmingham's South Avondale finds itself in the midst of a cultural renaissance.

October 25 - The Atlantic Cities

Justin Gillis discusses the controversy over President Obama's and Governor Romney's decision to skirt the topic of climate change during the presidential debates.

October 25 - The New York Times

An ordinance designed to help stop a Walmart "Neighborhood Market" from opening in L.A.'s Chinatown neighborhood fell short of the necessary votes at a City Council meeting held yesterday, reports Alice Walton.

October 24 - KPCC

Sue Illman thinks so. And in this editorial for The Guardian, she argues that the success of the High Line signifies a new era in which the quality of our parks and public spaces, rather than our skylines, makes our towns and cities stand out.

October 24 - The Guardian

Now that Mayor Bloomberg has had his say in what New Yorkers drink, Alan Brake argues it's time for the next mayor and his partner in Albany to focus on what they eat, by devising a plan to link New York's upstate farms with its downstate markets.

October 24 - The Architect's Newspaper

In the first of a new series of articles tackling urban livelihoods, Caroline Skinner explains why the informal workforce matters, and offers six strategies for developing more inclusive urban planning processes.

October 24 - The Global Urbanist

By a ratio of two-to-one, Toronto is far outpacing NYC in terms of high-rises and skyscrapers currently under construction. As other Canadian cities follow suit, Jim Flaherty, Canada's Finance Minister, is taking measures to cool the market.

October 24 - The Globe and Mail

With the portion of American's living in cities set to rise to 90 percent by 2050, a new set of accessibility issues will confront the nation's disabled and aging. Metropolis invited 7 teams of designers to develop solutions to meet this challenge.

October 24 - Metropolis

In advance of Grand Central's 100th birthday next year, the Municipal Arts Society (MAS) asked three architecture firms to rethink the station's public spaces for the next 100 years. The results were unveiled last week.

October 24 - A/N Blog

You read that right, Sweden's trash problem is that it doesn't have enough of it. Due to a spectacularly successful rate of recycling, the country doesn't have enough garbage to power its waste-to-energy program. It's solution: import trash.

October 24 - Fast Company Co.Exist

<em>National Journal</em> engaged several experts on the state of transportation infrastructure. Both Ken Orski and Rep. Earl Blumenhauer examine different aspects of the 'Infrastructure Deficit". What can we expect to see in the next four years?

October 24 - National Journal