The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

From Braddock, Pennsylvania to Beijing, Nate Berg offers his favorite articles about cities published in 2011.

December 22 - The Atlantic Cities

New details and a visualization from Cornell University's winning proposal to create a "game-changing" applied sciences and technology campus on New York's Roosevelt Island.

December 22 - BetaBeat

The EPA issues its first national standards for mercury pollution from power plants, requiring a dramatic reduction of pollutants 90% by 2016.

December 22 - The New York Times

Think/Architect looks at models for garages from the past that were built for one-car households, and compares then to contemporary designs that keep expanding from 2 cars to 3 and beyond.

December 22 - think architect

A new report focusing on the City of Philadelphia found that there is a statistically significant correlation between real estate value (as measured by sales price) and proximity to billboards.

December 22 - Scenic America

LA to SF in 2 hrs, 40 mins? That promise in the proposition that voters approved in 2008 could be the train's undoing, as to keep that schedule it will require more expensive design, including viaducts and tunnels, than would otherwise necessitate.

December 22 - Los Angeles Times

Allentown, PA is just one of many cities across the nation who have had to face tough decisions as their Community Development Block Grant funds shrink.

December 22 - The New York Times

The report put out by TRIP, a Washington, DC non-profit sponsored by insurance companies and transportation labor unions, highlights about 50 trips that are likely to generate economic growth when completed.

December 22 - The Portland Press Herald

BLOG POST

<span style="font-size: small; font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> </span> <p style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Planning students are often interested in finding examples of planning practice, particularly good examples. Several free online sources list projects that have won awards or been the subject of magazine articles. While winning an award doesn’t mean a project is perfect, such projects are typically m some of the more interesting examples of planning.</span></span><span style="font-size: small; font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> </span> <br />

December 21 - Ann Forsyth

Greg Hanscom, cities editor at Grist, picks his top stories for 2011, including Occupy Wall Street, bright flight and the "urban renaissance that isn't (yet)."

December 21 - Grist

Cleveland, suffering from a disappearing population, is pinning its hopes on a new Uptown arts and entertainment district, including the new Museum of Contemporary Art which opens in 2012.

December 21 - The New York Times

Rem Koolhaas, in an interview in Der Speigel, talks about the "zero character" office building he works in in Rotterdam and how wonderful

December 21 - The Atlantic Cities

Thomas Balsley has designed more Privately-Owned Public Spaces (POPS) in New York than anyone. In this op-ed he expresses his support for continuing to encourage the creation of these spaces, regardless of the ownership issues.

December 21 - The New York Observer

Governor Paul Lepage of Maine has banned the use of LEED certification in state buildings. Lloyd Alter at Treehugger says it's all about the timber industry.

December 21 - Treehugger

In an article primarily featuring a couple who designed and built a 560 sq ft home, a developer says that homebuyers say they want smaller homes but still want big bedrooms.

December 21 - The Houston Chronicle

As utilities and energy companies move towards distributed power, building owners, businesses, and developers are seeing the possibilities.

December 21 - The Planning Report

As a part of its series on the changing face of the suburbs, CNN considers the transformation of the suburban prototype, Levittown.

December 21 - CNN

After the Big Dig, the most expensive highway projects are subject to more rules, but use of funds is largely up to the states, who may come back for more money pending planning and design issues that arise.

December 21 - USA Today

Delhi was being celebrated as a capital for the first time, under British rule, a hundred years ago. This short piece from the Economist compares today's Delhi with the images of fanfare in December 1911.

December 21 - The Economist

Leon Neyfakh of The Boston Globe examines the unexpectedly cohesive political roots of the controversial civic symbol.

December 20 - The Boston Globe