The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Reese Neader and Daniel Goldfarb discuss military-driven innovation in technology, and how it will ease our transition away from dependence on foreign oil.

May 9 - Good

While proponents for the preservation of Paul Rudolph's Orange County Government Center won a reprieve last week, Anthony Paletta is more concerned with the types of civic architecture the Rudolph building's critics would hope to construct.

May 9 - Metropolis POV Blog

BLOG POST

A few weeks ago I had lunch with a friend and fellow urbanist, Bob Ransford. Lunches with Bob are never boring, as we get right into things, and often debate. Bob’s a communications specialist and a longtime member of the Twitteratti (<a href="http://twitter.com/BobRansford" target="_blank">@BobRansford</a>), so amongst discussions about strengthening urbanism in the Cascadia Region, and affordability debates in Vancouver, I asked him a question that’s been on my mind for the last month: Is Twitter a positive tool for global urbanism? Put another way, is twitter facilitating smarter discussions on international city-building, or are we all getting dumber, 140 characters at a time?<br />

May 9 - Brent Toderian

Nate Berg uncovers yet another study matching long commutes to poor health, from low fitness to high blood pressure.

May 9 - The Atlantic Cities

After decades of use as a landfill, Overpeck Creek's recent makeover has created a dream home for rowing crews from around the New York region, reports Juliet Macur.

May 9 - The New York Times

Mike Sheridan looks at the changing types of workspaces being demanded by knowledge-economy businesses. These aren't your parents' cubicle-filled steel and glass boxes.

May 9 - Urban Land

As public-private partnerships to invest in aged urban infrastructure gain in popularity in Chicago, and across the country, Christopher Weber asks who will fund the improvements unaligned with corporate interests.

May 9 - Rust Wire

Kareem Fahim explores the surprisingly reliable subway system beneath the Egyptian capital, as well as public sentiment that it's the last stronghold of order in a city still trying to regain its balance.

May 9 - The New York Times

Once again, Southern California finds itself embroiled in a dispute over public access to, and private usurping of, its most coveted resource -- the beach. This time, tony Orange County is the scene of the battle.

May 8 - Los Angeles Times

Amidst the paradoxical increase in ridership demand, Yonah Freemark explores the plague of transit cuts reinforcing regional inequalities across the country.

May 8 - the transport politic

With low-income children much more likely to be overweight than their wealthier counterparts, Sarah Parsons looks at six innovative ideas for improving access to healthy foods in low-income communities.

May 8 - Good

FEATURE

May 8 - Ross Chapin

On the occasion of recent elections in England that saw the defeat eight of the nine referendums seeking approval for directly elected mayors, Peter Hetherington laments the state of local governance in the country.

May 8 - The Guardian

Megan Jett has created a beautiful series of compelling infographics that capture the different factors contributing to the decline of suburbia.

May 8 - ArchDaily

Starbucks used to be the retailer who symbolically announced the revival of an urban community. Not any longer. Will Doig looks at Whole Foods, the new gentrification symbol, who've "made a science of putting down roots" at "just the right moment".

May 8 - Salon.com

Announced on Monday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYCDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, America's largest bike share program will be named Citibike, for its lead sponsor Citibank, reports Branden Klayko.

May 8 - The Architect's Newspaper Blog

John Schwartz looks at Chicago's rail mess, which seems entirely inadequate a word to describe the "sprawling traffic jam" that keeps some rail traffic crawling through the city at an average speed of 1.13 miles per hour.

May 8 - The New York Times

Emily Badger tracks the hacking phenomenon as it migrates from the virtual to the physical world, and the official channels that are embracing and facilitating its emergence.

May 8 - The Atlantic Cities

Mark Wilson profiles Google Maps' new feature - Photo Tours - which combs the Internet to provide 3-D tours of popular locations around the world.

May 8 - Fast Company Co:Design

In an essay for The Wall Street Journal, economics author Daniel Gross explores how he believes America's transition from an Ownership Society to a Rentership Society will unleash a wave of economic efficiency to fuel the next boom.

May 7 - The Wall Street Journal