The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Ben Goldman looks at the findings in a new paper released by the Pew Health Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, that aims to identify opportunities to increase the utilization of Health Impact Assessments (HIA).

April 7 - Streetsblog D.C.

The furniture giant Ikea is planning a huge urban renewal project in East London -- a privately-owned, eco-friendly development in which all housing is rented. Doug Saunders visits the proposed site to see the future of managed living for himself.

April 7 - Globe and Mail

While the revised business plan did shave off $30 billion, there remains a $55 billion funding shortfall. Dependent on federal and private funds that may never appear, could revenue from the sale of carbon credits bridge the funding gap?

April 7 - San Jose Mercury News

Some architecture students at UC Berkeley were incredibly busy over Spring Break. Polishing their portfolios or getting ahead on course reading, you ask? Nope. Developing a trove of Architectural LOLCATS.

April 6 - Archinect

David Zahniser and Ari Bloomekatz report on yesterday's release of the EIR for a proposed $1 billion football stadium in downtown LA, by developer AEG, which intends to take significant steps to encourage event-goers to use mass transit.

April 6 - Los Angeles Times

Pittsburgh is smoothing over the residue of its industrial past, turning an abandoned railway into a waterfront park, Paige Miller reports.

April 6 - Smart Growth America

Plans to transform New York's Tappan Zee Bridge into a park have captured the public's imagination, but some speculate it's just a pipe dream, Peter Applebome reports.

April 6 - The New York Times

Inspired by the controversial new Community Plan for Hollywood, <em>The New York Times</em> has invited six debaters to its opinion pages to offer their views on whether Los Angeles should "New Yorkify".

April 6 - The New York Times

BLOG POST

I’ve had a lot of questions lately from students about how important transcripts are in the graduate admissions process. Your application is one of the few times anyone will actually read your transcript so it has some importance.

April 6 - Ann Forsyth

As government funding for programs that make fresh fruits and vegetables available to low-income women and young children get cut, Sarah Parsons asks how to make the sustainable food movement less elitist.

April 6 - Good

Emily Badger examines a new tool unveiled this week that makes finding your ideal city, and fulfilling the commandment of the Talking Heads' 1979 song "Cities," much easier.

April 6 - The Atlantic Cities

<em>The Telegraph</em> takes a shot at identifying the 21 ugliest buildings ever designed and built. Some of their choices will no doubt surprise you, including one that hasn't even been completed.

April 6 - The Telegraph

Julie V. Iovine examines a new exhibition at the Center for Architecture in New York that seeks to capture the spirit of architectural possibility and optimism that defined midcentury Baghdad.

April 6 - The Wall Street Journal

Haya El Nasser and Paul Overberg report on how current trends could cause the extinction of suburban sprawl.

April 6 - USA Today

BLOG POST

A couple of weeks ago, Todd Litman made a blog entry on logical fallacies in planning.*<span>   </span>After looking at the list of possible fallacies at the end of his post, I thought I would show some (hopefully not too common) examples of these fallacies: <p class="MsoNormal"> <strong>Ad hominem</strong> (arguing against the person rather than the argument) – “Smart growth is in the U.N&#39;s Agenda 21 so we have to fight it to stop the U.N&#39;s plan to socialize the world.”<span>  </span>“Concern about urban containment is just another example of Tea Party extremism.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <strong>Anageon</strong> (relying on inevitability)- “Sprawl is inevitable, so there’s nothing we can do about it.” </p>

April 5 - Michael Lewyn

As the largest council of governments in the country adopts a $525 billion transportation and land use plan for the next two decades, Josh Stephens marks the beginning of Southern California's age of climate-friendly, smart-growth regionalism.

April 5 - California Planning & Development Report

According to Nick Bunkley, and data compiled by TrueCar.com, probably not. Aside from two hybrids and a diesel car, gas would need to cost $8 a gallon before most hybrids cover their increased initial cost versus a similar, non-hybrid model.

April 5 - The New York Times

Just 24 hours before Governor Snyder's deadline for appointing an emergency manager for Detroit to help rein in its budgetary troubles, the city council has voted to approve a consent agreement with the State of Michigan.

April 5 - Detroit Free Press

McKay Jenkins looks at the challenges confronting Maryland as the state tries to reckon with the devastating consequences of the era of sprawl and prepare for an additional one million people over the next twenty five years.

April 5 - Urbanite

Maggie Comstock looks at what it takes to be considered a "Smart City", and asks what an organizationally and infrastructurally challenged city like Atlanta can do to raise its IQ.

April 5 - Sustainable Cities