The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Upending the adage that nothing gets done in D.C. these days, last week the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) released their long range plans for remaking the Southwest area of the capital, capping two years of intense debate.

July 16 - THE DIRT

When he took office last year, Rahm Emmanuel inherited a city in which a sheen of new projects hid a crumbling infrastructure. With a laundry list of initiatives, the mayor is intent on retaining the city's place amongst the world's great cities.

July 16 - The Guardian

As the number of completed parklets in San Francisco nears three dozen, after debuting only two years ago, "the latest trend in urban placemaking" has entered the planning mainstream without losing its grassroots origins.

July 16 - San Francisco Chronicle

With the CA state Senate's appropriation of $8 billion toward their $68 billion high speed rail plan, the spotlight turns to the other coast - the Northeast Corridor, with Amtrak's unveiling its updated, $151 billion plan. Both run 220 mph trains.

July 15 - Reuters via Chicago Tribune

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Century Schoolbook'">A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog post comparing the safety of inner suburbs and outer suburbs. (See <a href="/node/56468">http://www.planetizen.com/node/56468</a> )</span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Century Schoolbook'">My post showed that (in least in the metropolitan areas I looked at) inner suburbs were safer than outer suburbs, because violent deaths from murder and traffic combined were lower in the former.</span> </p>

July 15 - Michael Lewyn

<em>The Economist</em> takes notice of Houston's efforts to create a more sustainable and attractive city, a not uncomplicated task in the capital of America's energy industry.

July 15 - The Economist

Not only are transit systems subsidized, but so are America's roads. While some advocate for the reduction of road subsidies to better incentivize transit use, Josh Barro argues for more effective ways to make mass transit work better.

July 15 - City Journal

America's fundamental levels of governance are changing, writes Anna Clark in Next American City, who uses examples from Detroit and Cleveland to ascertain what the stakes are when cities cede public sector work to third parties.

July 15 - Next American City

Lillian Mathews describes "radical cartography," a movement to highlight, not hide, the process and politics associated with map-making decisions.

July 15 - Global Site Plans - The Grid

Efforts to expand bicycle-friendly infrastructure across the country have revealed the importance of comprehensive planning. Peter DeMarco reports on ways in which planners in the Boston area are trying to fill in the gaps in their emerging network.

July 14 - Boston.com

Michael Kimmelman reports on the strong ties that exist between the economic and social well-being of a city and its architecture, infrastructure and public spaces, as evinced in Bogotá, Colombia.

July 14 - The New York Times

Geoff Dyer describes the essential role that a residential component plays in any mixed-use town center. For Dyer, residences are "the substrate on which a healthy mixed-use environment is based."

July 14 - PlaceShakers

With $8 billion almost in hand (the $4.5 billion in state bonds still need to be sold), the most formidable immediate hurdles are dealing with five lawsuits facing the High Speed Rail Authority. Mike Rosenberg reports that progress has been made.

July 14 - San Jose Mercury News

Edward Jensen responds to a recent attention grabbing op-ed in <em>The Arizona Republic</em> with his own list of priorities to help enliven the core of the sixth-largest city in the country.

July 14 - Technology for a Digital Generation

With your indulgence, we'd like to inaugurate "Flush Fridays" by bringing you the latest entry in John Metcalfe's "Toilet Tuesdays" series. This week's deposit focused on Lucas, Kansas, the town in America "most proud of its public restrooms."

July 13 - The Atlantic Cities

A tongue-in-cheek, and somewhat convoluted, infographic produced in association with NPR's "Cities Project" aims to help participants deduce whether or not they live in a city.

July 13 - Fast Company Co:Design

As the third California city in a month files for bankruptcy protection, fears of a domino effect worry many. While bankruptcy may seem like an enticing solution, officials that have gone through it caution about the downside.

July 13 - Los Angeles Times

Farhad Manjoo probes the internet retail giant's shifting strategy on the geographic distribution of its facilities, and wonders what the implications are for local retail once Amazon can offer same-day delivery.

July 13 - Salon

In case the everyday theater of urban street life isn't quite adequate in an age of $200 million Hollywood blockbusters, a design collective from Auckland, New Zealand has created a way to turn any stoop into a mini cinema.

July 13 - Architizer

Jeremy Rosenberg examines why Thomas Jefferson may have had more of an impact on the development of Los Angeles than you might suspect. The city's street grid can be traced back to this American founding father.

July 13 - KCET