The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

In the wake of three municipal bankruptcies in California this year, Moody's Investor Services is placing thirty cities on credit review. These are not poor ones either, but in the heart of Silicon Valley and other wealthy Bay Area cities.

October 12 - San Francisco Chronicle

Scientists are studying whether the stresses of living in urban environments increases the risks of developing mental health disorders. Global urbanization is making the question an urgent one, writes Alison Abbott.

October 12 - Nature

Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan discusses the plan put forth by three Raleigh architects to densify the city's pre-existing residential neighborhoods by creating a new RA-50 or "Alley Residential" zoning classification.

October 12 - Fast Company Co.Design

At a news conference this week announcing their ambitious "mode shift" campaign, Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey boldly announced that the state will "build no more superhighways," and work to get people out of their cars.

October 12 - Streetsblog D.C.

Sarah Goodyear attributes the appeal of NYC's High Line, and the recently opened Barclays Center, to not only smart urban design, but also the nostalgia of urban decay.

October 12 - The Atlantic Cities

With the expansion of the Panama Canal expected to be complete in 2015, U.S. Port Cities are uniquely positioned to reap economic benefits of increased industrial activity.

October 12 - ICIC

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal"> The conventional wisdom among Americans who spend lots of time thinking about public transit is that four more years of Obama will be good news, and the election of the Romney-Ryan ticket would be bad.  I have to admit that this belief is by no means completely irrational: after all, President Romney will be much less likely than President Obama to veto a transportation bill passed by a Republican Congress, and might propose a mere austere budget than President Obama.   Nevertheless, I think there are good reasons to believe otherwise.  </p>

October 11 - Michael Lewyn

Jeremy Rosenberg's latest entry in his "Laws That Shaped LA" column looks at the impact of the Collier-Burns Act, a state law passed in 1947 that allowed the city to become "smothered with concrete and asphalt goliaths."

October 11 - KCET Departures

Mick Sweetman of George Brown College criticizes Toronto city council's decision to remove an existing bike lane heavily used by that college's students.

October 11 - rabble.ca

A free digital toolkit allowing communities to collect, analyze, and share their own data will be launched nationally at the end of the year.

October 11 - Fast Company Co.Design

Local officials in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City, are pursuing a plan to build America's National Museum of Suburbia. Displays may include artifacts such as school lunchboxes, electric toasters and camping gear.

October 11 - The Wall Street Journal

Texas State Rep. Joe Pickett faults a recent TRIP report for not recommending a funding strategy to address the state's revenue shortfall for transportation needs. Two groups view vehicle registration fees as a funding option.

October 11 - The Texas Tribune

An innovate plan to reconceive Auckland's transit network from the ground up led by Jarrett Walker demonstrates the dramatic efficiencies that can be gained, without additional cost, by increasing transfers.

October 11 - Human Transit

This collection of images of buildings shaped like animals brings new meaning to the term "architectural petting zoo."

October 11 - Flavorwire

For planners searching for hard to find historic census data in a GIS-ready format, the National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) may be the one-stop shop you've been looking for.

October 11 - APA

Matthew Yglesias diagnoses a common predicament facing many urban communities: the fear that improving living conditions is a <em>bad</em> thing.

October 11 - Slate

Once a national hub of passenger rail service, St. Louis's majestic Union Station hasn't seen a train in five years. The impending sale of the station may provide the opportunity to bring a historic use back to one of the country's grand relics.

October 11 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

BLOG POST

<p> Urban agriculture is a hot topic in sustainability, food, and planning circles. From roof and deck gardens to community gardens to urban farms, urban agriculture has captured the imaginations of activists of many stripes as well as gardeners and eaters. When I mention that my academic work focuses on food access in urban areas, the most common response I get is “oh, you mean like urban ag?” As this interest in urban agriculture grows, some are asking whether food sovereignty – the ability for a population to produce enough food to feed itself – is a feasible goal for American cities.  </p>

October 11 - Lisa Feldstein

The subject of recent politically charged threats, the rail carrier surpassed its record for annual passengers for the ninth time in ten years. Ridership has grown a total of 49 percent since 2000.

October 10 - Transportation Nation

Long lagging behind European and East Coast cities, cities in California are poised to adopt bike sharing in a big way. Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Francisco and others are adding the popular short-term rental service to their transportation options.

October 10 - California Planning & Development Report