The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

UCLA's Paul Habibi believes that L.A.'s lack of affordable workforce housing, the "donut hole" between subsidized housing and high-end housing preferred by developers, is harming the city's competitiveness. In a new report he outlines a solution.

October 5 - KPCC

A new suite of tools to help you design, plan, and manage your plot is looking for investors on Kickstarter.

October 5 - Inhabitat

A new skyscraper is set to grace skies over Bogota, Colombia. Instead of one wealthy developer, the tower is being funded by thousands of people, each with their own stake in the property.

October 5 - Fast Company

Park La Brea, the nation's largest housing complex west of the Mississippi, like much of Los Angeles, has changed dramatically over the decades. Yet, an overwhelming sense of community and identity has endured.

October 5 - Los Angeles Times

Chicago's backyards may turn into oases of sustainability with a new program aimed at creating incentives for 'greener' practices in the city's private gardens.

October 5 - Switchboard

Boasting some of the highest housing prices in the country, and rising, San Francisco is in desperate need of affordable housing. This November, the city's voters will have a chance to try to remedy the situation with two ballot measures.

October 5 - Next American City

In the triple bottom line of profits, planet, and people, it's people that tend to get the shaft. Scott Doyon lays out seven ways to change that.

October 5 - PlaceShakers

A new report by the transportation research group TRIP documents the status, safety impacts, and costs of Texas' growing infrastructure crisis.

October 5 - Streetsblog D.C.

At the ASLA 2012 Annual Meeting, a panel of distinguished design critics discussed the need for landscape architecture to take on a greater leadership role in the planning and design of cities.

October 5 - THE DIRT

For Ken Greenberg, it's clear Toronto is "going through a metamorphosis of extraordinary proportions," comparable to the development of New York in the mid-20th century. He examines how the city must prepare for an unprecedented scale of development.

October 4 - The Globe and Mail

The UK's Department for Education is banning curved walls, glazed walls, internal partitions, and a host of other design elements and materials in an attempt to keep a lid on costs for its five-year $4 billion school-building program.

October 4 - The Guardian

A new report documents the rise of payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) made by non-profits to cities desperate for new revenue. Although they've gained notice by cash-strapped cities, the report indicates PILOTs typically generate little revenue.

October 4 - At Lincoln House

Shaped by two World's Fairs, the long-neglected, but intensely used, park is targeted for redevelopment. City officials plan for a new mall, a soccer stadium, and more parking, upsetting some in the local community.

October 4 - The New York Times

Determined not to let 'congressional gridlock slow economic growth', Pres. Obama added two major transit projects to his 'We Can't Wait" initiative: the proposed Southwest Light Rail Line and Cleveland's University Circle – Little Italy Rapid Station

October 4 - Progressive Railroading

Jeremy Rosenberg continues his fascinating series on the laws that shaped Los Angeles with a look at the local, and national, impact of the 1934 National Housing Act on residential development patterns.

October 4 - KCET Departures

A new study conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute shows that New York and Los Angeles have much higher rates of pedestrian and biking fatalities than the national average.

October 4 - Los Angeles Times

Conflicting opinions have arisen over the use of red-light cameras. But, new evidence may finally put an end to arguments over whether they actually improve safety, or are only effective in increasing revenues.

October 4 - The Atlantic Cities

Study suggests that light-colored roofs may reduce regional rainfall.

October 4 - Climatewire

Conservative news outlets are recirculating a controversial speech made by President Obama in 2007, highlighting his remark that "We don’t need to build more highways out in the suburbs." Brad Plumer looks at the policy implications of his statement.

October 4 - The Washington Post

As part of the new Transbay Transit Center being developed in downtown SF, several new overpasses are being constructed. Rather than allow the oft-forgotten spaces underneath these roads to become seedy, designers are envisioning positive uses.

October 3 - The Examiner