The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

An Indian court pulls the plug -- sort of -- on unregulated groundwater exploitation.

July 20 - The Times Of India

On the eve of the premiere of the most highly anticipated blockbuster of the summer - "The Dark Night Rises" - Adam Rogers probes the "deeply dysfunctional love story" between Batman and Gotham.

July 19 - The Atlantic Cities

Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan discusses the launch of Designing Chicago, an "unusual" Kickstarter campaign intended to utilize the brains and wallets of the city's residents to create an app covering the city’s various systems of public transportation.

July 19 - Fast Company Co.Design

With construction beginning, Michael Cabanatuan reports on the unresolved problems dogging San Francisco's $1.6 billion Central Subway project.

July 19 - San Francisco Chronicle

In its attempt to clean up the mess left by the dismantling of the state's redevelopment agencies, the California legislature is holding cities hostage with a 'draconian' penalty for failing to relinquish funds to the state.

July 19 - California Planning & Development Report

An award-winning master plan for Toronto's Lower Don Lands, completed only five years ago by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, may be gutted if the Ford administration has its way, reports Alex Ulam.

July 19 - The Architect's Newspaper

Jefferson Graham describes how an influx of tech start-ups are turning Los Angeles into "Silicon Beach" - the newest hot spot for entrepreneurs with an entertainment, celebrity or mobile edge.

July 19 - USA Today

Urbanists got excited when new population data from the U.S. Census Bureau suggested bigger growth in cities compared to their suburbs. Eric Jaffe interviews Columbia professor David King on why this isn't necessarily true.

July 19 - The Atlantic Cities

From Portland to Minneapolis, cities across the America have been trying to catch up to Copenhagen's world-renowned bicycling infrastructure. With the recent opening of a bike superhighway, the Danish capital is leaving other cities in the dust.

July 19 - The New York Times

Over the past year and a half more than 40 street poles have suffered damages, Paul Chapman reports, as Aukland prostitutes employ the poles for exotic dances.

July 19 - The Telegraph

Even smaller than Mayor Bloomberg's 'micro-apartment' proposal for Manhattan, Berkeley developer Patrick Kennedy has his 'SmartSpace' model, based on his experience living in an Airstream trailer, headed to the Board of Supervisors on July 24.

July 19 - San Francisco Chronicle

Last week, landscape architect James Corner presented a transformative vision for remaking Seattle's waterfront after the removal of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Lynn Thompson describes Corner's plan, and its accompanying funding challenges.

July 18 - The Seattle Times

Jessica Garrison and Angel Jennings report on a new lawsuit filed this week by the City of Los Angeles that is part of "an aggressive attempt to deal with the urban decay caused by the housing crash."

July 18 - Los Angeles Times

When the railroad was the primary means of interstate travel, America's cities relied on their train stations to provide grand first impressions to travelers. As transit ridership soars, a bevy of new stations are being designed as civic centerpieces

July 18 - Salon

Battling against rumors of impending retirement, or even death, at least one owner isn't going down without a fight to make its malls Internet-proof. Stephanie Clifford examines how Glimcher Realty Trust's novel approach is paying dividends.

July 18 - The New York Times

Chris McKenzie, Executive Director of the California League of Cities, discusses the specter of bankruptcy and the structural difficulties cities face in addressing their fiscal deficits. The San Bernardino bankruptcy does not mean the worst is over.

July 18 - The Planning Report

Kaid Benfield directs our attention to "a terrific, poster-sized graphic highlighting the benefits of public transportation" that was created by an unlikely source - a credit card comparison website.

July 18 - Switchboard

Dowell Myers pens an opinion piece for <em>The Sacramento Bee</em> arguing that it's time to reform California's infamous property tax cap - Proposition 13 - in order to solve the challenges facing the state today, and in the future.

July 18 - The Sacramento Bee

Representing the Global Cities Initiative, Richard M. Daley and Bruce Katz report on the current status of Miami's economy and offer tips they deem necessary to boost the regional economy into true "global" status.

July 18 - The Miami Herald

Yesterday, the controversial plan to expand New York University's footprint in Greenwich Village over the next 20 years was approved by a City Council committee after last minute negotiations and reductions, reports Joseph Berger.

July 18 - The New York Times