The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Eleven years into a likely twelve-year tenure as director of the New York City Planning Department, Julie Satow explores the accomplishments, and unfinished agenda, of Amanda Burden.

May 21 - The New York Times

Steve Mouzon argues that trillions being spent world-wide on skyscrapers could be lost as energy costs rise.

May 21 - The Original Green Blog

Recent studies seem to indicate that public transportation is habit-forming, and, as Brad Plumer notes, that may not be a good thing.

May 21 - The Washington Post

Kathryn Shattuck reports on the fight to save downtown Minneapolis's decaying Peavey Plaza, which was recognized as one of the nation’s most significant examples of landscape architecture merely 13 years ago.

May 21 - The New York Times

A Switzerland-based design group is bringing back the geodesic dome in a big way with an aquaponic greenhouse that can be placed on just about any flat roof, Zak Stone reports.

May 21 - Good

Architect Zaha Hadid, designer of the £269 million Aquatics Center to be used for this summer's Olympic Games, is unhappy about being overlooked for an invitation to any of the events that will take place in her building.

May 21 - Architizer

Yonah Freemark critiques a planned expansion to Dallas' already-extensive highway network, arguing that it undermines billions of dollars in light rail investment and sets its downtown on a path of stunted growth.

May 21 - the transport politic

To close off the paper's series on Canadian immigration policy, the Globe and Mail's Doug Saunders calls for a dramatic increase in immigrants, arguing that the country's underpopulation harms almost every aspect of national life.

May 21 - Globe and Mail

Stephen Lee Davis investigates a campaign by Baton Rouge community groups to revive its bus service as it teetered on the brink of collapse.

May 20 - Transportation for America

The smart phones that keep us constantly connected to cyberspace may have detrimental effects on our public spaces, writes Emily Badger.

May 20 - The Atlantic Cities

Is it a calamity that more Californians are leaving the state than are migrating there from others? USC demographer Dowell Myers takes a closer look at migration data and finds that most native-born Californians remain there.

May 20 - Zocalo Public Square

Michael Kimmelman ventures to Colombia's reborn second city to explore what new buildings and infrastructure have brought to the city's residents, what it has not, and what remains to be done.

May 20 - The New York Times

Kathleen Madigan takes a look at new research that considers the shift in America's living situations, and what it means for consumer behavior.

May 20 - The Wall Street Journal

Following up on his insightful essay on the politics of architectural reputation seen through the career of Louis Curtiss, Keith Eggener examines the architect's innovations with glass curtain walls.

May 19 - Places

As the Golden Gate Bridge approaches its 75th anniversary, John King pens an incisive comparison between the arguments against the bridge's original construction and those that have challenged subsequent high-profile projects.

May 19 - San Francisco Chronicle

Congressman Earl Blumeanauer explains what landscape architects, architects, planners and engineers can do to bridge the gap between politics and more livable communities during ASLA's advocacy day.

May 19 - Dirt

John Metcalfe explores a new kind of hybrid vehicle that could revolutionize trucking and cut down air contaminants in one of the most polluted regions in the country.

May 19 - The Atlantic Cities

Ten years after publishing of The Rise of the Creative Class, the prominent city-booster says high-rises are “vertical suburbs” and we need “urban environments that stir the spirit.”

May 19 - Better! Cities & Towns

Granted, this post may straddle the borderline between funny and sadly pertinent in these challenging economic times. But, we think any rankings that rely upon the number of Dollar General stores in a 30-mile radius deserves a bit of a chuckle.

May 18 - yahoo! Finance

As a New Yorker visiting Tokyo, Eric Jaffe set out to keep a scorecard comparing his home city's transportation infrastructure with that of the Japanese capital. He found that the score wasn't even close.

May 18 - The Atlantic Cities