The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The role of the physical environment in promoting healthy living was the focus of a gathering last week in the Peel Region, which encompasses three of Toronto's western suburbs. Participants discussed the challenges of adapting suburban environs.

October 24 - Toronto Star

Armed with complaints over favoritism towards developers, and insufficient deference to the needs of ordinary citizens, an independent challenger is taking on the incumbent mayor of affluent Alexandria, Virginia.

October 23 - The Washington Post

Chuck Raasch looks at how combining services can help local governments "to capitalize on the economics of scale and offset declining revenue since the Great Recession."

October 23 - USA Today

Although "two of the hottest buzzwords in urban planning" - resilience and sustainability - are often used interchangeably, in many cases they actually work against each other. David Biello examines why both are crucial for the future of our cities.

October 23 - Slate

As part of an endeavor to improve access to New York's 525 Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS), which gained notoriety during last year's Occupy Wall Street protests, a new website has been launched to help the public find and utilize them.

October 23 - The Architect's Newspaper

A few miles west of the District of Columbia, Tysons (formerly Tysons Corner) in Fairfax County is emerging as an economic powerhouse. Will this Virginia community overtake the Nation’s Capital?

October 23 - The Washington Post

Editorializing on the expected fare increase for New York City's 8.5 million transit riders, the Times suggests ways to soften the blow. Writing in response, the president of the Citizens Budget Commission suggests looking toward motorists.

October 23 - The New York Times - Opinion

Recent studies show that upwards of 77% of Millennials are opting to live in urban areas. The impact on the local economy will be huge, IF urban planners rethink how we build our downtowns.

October 23 - ICIC Inner City Exchange

Emily Badger discusses new research showing that dedicated bike infrastructure has a demonstrated impact on reducing the risk of injury for cyclists.

October 23 - The Atlantic Cities

Since the September 11 attacks, the areas in and surrounding Lower Manhattan have experienced an increase in the population of young, educated workers, reports Sam Roberts. Farther-off suburbs are seeing their share of such high-value workers shrink.

October 23 - The New York Times

Seattle offers a compelling example of how the transfer of development rights (TDR) can provide a market-based means to kill two smart-growth birds with one stone, writes Claire Thompson.

October 23 - Grist

BLOG POST

<p> A few weeks back, I watched with concern Toronto having a rhetoric-heavy debate about removing the relatively new bike-lane on Jarvis Street. Last minute efforts to save the bike-lane <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/cityhallpolitics/article/1265847--jarvis-bike-lanes-to-be-removed-after-last-ditch-council-effort-to-save-them-fails" target="_blank">were ultimately unsuccessful</a>, although as small consolation, Council chose not to use bike-lane infrastructure funds to remove it – a previous intention that had been seen as adding budgeting insult to active mobility injury.<br /> <br />

October 22 - Brent Toderian

A new initiative launched by Mayor Bloomberg to tackle New York City's need for affordable housing through the construction of microunits is attracting hostility from advocates and local leaders for neglecting the needs of large, poor families.

October 22 - The New York Times

For Howard Blackson, the latest trend in planning and design is redevelopment based on evolving, rather than phased, implementation. In this blog post he identifies the three typologies of this "slow urbanism."

October 22 - Better! Cities & Towns

<em>Business Insider</em> has compiled a list of the "31 fastest growing cities on the planet." Cities in China and Africa we're well represented, with only two cities outside of those areas cracking the list.

October 22 - Business Insider

Last week the San Francisco Planning Commission gave final approval for the 1,070-foot Transbay Transit Center tower, reports Mike Billings.

October 22 - The San Francisco Examiner

After months of development, a group of Code for America fellows has unveiled a new web application that seeks to assist communities in identifying and cleaning up New Orleans's blighted properties, reports Emily Badger.

October 22 - Fast Company Co.Exist

The speedometer on the Chicago to St. Louis train hit 110 mph - and stayed there for five minutes, but it was enough to elevate the spirits of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the other dignitaries on-board. Normal speeds top out at 79 mph.

October 22 - The Huffington Post

Russian oligarchs and Brazilian expats may be its most prominent residents, but Miami does have a middle-class. But a new study shows they aren't exactly thriving. In fact, Miami is the toughest city in the nation to be a middle-class resident.

October 22 - New Times Miami Blog

Lackluster sales in Pittsburgh's luxury condominium market haven't dissuaded developers from betting on the continued demand for residences in the city's downtown. A 95 percent occupancy rate in rental buildings is driving apartment construction.

October 22 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette