The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Dan Reed cautions against an elitist aversion to sterile and inauthentic "town centers" – for all their supposed faults, they offer a stepping stone for the uninitiated masses to get interested in "true" urbanism.

March 16 - Greater Greater Washington

Mukta Naik, a consulting planner with Indian housing firm micro Home Solutions, discovers that grand plans for a 'slum-free India' missed the mark on one key point: the lives of slum dwellers.

March 16 - The Global Urbanist

The bicycle rights movement is on the rise as two new California laws give bike riders more equality on the road, reports Eric Jaffe.

March 16 - The Atlantic Cities

Once a bastion of rent-controlled housing for the poor and working class, a New York non-profit recently ousted its CEO following a string of risky real estate investments, Charles Bagli reports.

March 15 - New York Times

Nate Berg reports on the efforts of one Bay Area business owner to get his city to upgrade its internet infrastructure by investing his own money.

March 15 - The Atlantic Cities

One of the country's most publicized New Urbanist developments is diversifying its housing stock, featuring some of the nation's first apartments to be built using Passive House standards, reports Casey Parks.

March 15 - The Oregonian

Tim Maly analyses a stunning high-resolution map of America’s forests for its lessons on the subtle choices that go into good visual information design for multiple audiences.

March 15 - Fast Company Co.Design

For the first time in more than 25 years, Chicago is updating the city's Cultural Plan by taking stock of its existing cultural assets and identifying opportunities for “cultural hubs,” reports Christopher Bentley.

March 15 - The Architect's Newspaper

With rapidly increasing gaps between costs and funding, the transit systems serving the San Francisco bay area are on an unsustainable path. Egon Terplan offers six solutions to ensure they serve bay area residents long into the future.

March 15 - Streetsblog SF

After a decade of absence, Maxis, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts, has announced plans to release an updated version of SimCity, the pioneering urban planning computer game, in 2013.

March 15 - The Atlantic Cities

With the recently announced selection of a vendor to operate its first large-scale bicycle sharing program, Chicagoans are primed to start pedaling in earnest this summer, reports Jon Hilkevitch.

March 15 - Chicago Tribune

As the city runs out of cash, Detroit leaders are balking at a restructuring deal proposed by state officials to establish a joint advisory board to address the city’s financial troubles without a state-appointed emergency manager.

March 15 - The New York Times

Bills would permit cities and counties to create joint powers authorities to replace redevelopment agencies and require long-term real estate investment plans.

March 15 - www.cp-dr.com

BLOG POST

<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Arial">Is it mid-March already?</span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Arial">I’m far overdue for announcing my departure from Planetizen, which happened at the tail end of 2011. It was a wonderful 3 ½ years at the helm, and I thank Chris Steins and Abhijeet Chavan for giving me the opportunity back in 2008 to steer this incomparable resource.</span> </p>

March 14 - Tim Halbur

Tom Stoelker reports on the impending vote on whether to demolish a Brutalist "masterwork," Paul Rudolph’s 1971 Orange County Government Center in New York, and the moves preservationists are making to try to save it.

March 14 - The Architect's Newspaper

Enjoying bipartisan support, the Senate's two-year, $109 billion transportation and infrastructure bill was approved by a comfortable 74-22 vote margin this afternoon, reports Jonathan Weisman.

March 14 - The New York Times

Fred Kent, of the Project for Public Spaces, wades into the debate over architecture and design criticism with an affirmation of the importance of place, buttressing his argument with five successful contemporary buildings, and a Hall of Shame.

March 14 - Project For Public Spaces

The Emerald City puts the streetlight of the future to the test – for both safety and feel, and the results could affect how cities everywhere are illuminated in the future, reports William Yardley.

March 14 - New York Times

Julie Ma investigates how one Swedish company is paving the way for a new urban food system that aims to increase one city's self-sufficiency.

March 14 - Good

The increasing recognition of waterfronts as a recreational and redevelopment asset belies its continued value for trade and industry. Will Doig makes the case for the oft-antagonized shipping industry in the tug-of-war over waterfront real estate.

March 14 - Salon