The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Eric Jaffe reports on new research by urban travel behavior expert Bradley Lane of U. of Texas/El Paso on elasticity of gas prices and bus and rail ridership. Interestingly, rail ridership spiked twice as much as bus ridership when gas prices rose.

December 4 - The Atlantic Cities

One of the few remaining prototypes for Buckminster Fuller's "autonomous dwelling machine" - a 24 ft geodesic dome - has been restored and is on view now in Miami's Design District.

December 4 - The Art Newspaper

The Cleveland National Forest Foundation is suing SANDAG over a $200 billion transportation plan that purportedly only promotes sprawl through freeway extensions.

December 4 - KPBS

Brainchild of libertarians, seasteads are brand new cities built upon the ocean. It's not as far-fetched as it sounds, according to this article's author, but it will have to overcome the myriad engineering, energy, and legal challenges.

December 4 - The Economist

Tod Newcombe reports on pedestrian-only malls like Buffalo's, which after 25 years has been so unsuccessful that they want to turn it back into a road. So why are these ped malls failing?

December 3 - Governing Magazine

A new report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency says that U.S. counties with a significant number of jobs in the energy sector have seen a rise in home prices that is unusual in this recession.

December 3 - The Oklahoman

Architect and planner Alexander Garvin takes a walk through New York City's public spaces, and says the city has been paying too much attention to new buildings and not enough on the public realm.

December 3 - The New York Times

A recent rezoning led to high economic hopes for downtown Brooklyn. But a more recent economic downturn seems to have undermined those expectations. Indeed, some growth has occurred, but success depends on whom you ask.

December 3 - Brooklyn Bureau

Various reports detail how Mumbai can become a world-class city by listing infrastructure and development goals, but, as Nayantara Kilachand points out, "cultural and social nuance" need to be--but aren't--factored in.

December 3 - The Wall Street Journal

During his tenure as governor, Romney took several pro-smart growth actions, says Alec MacGillis in the New Republic.

December 2 - The Oregonian

Well ahead of it's time, San Francisco adopted a 'transit-first policy' in 1973. However, the 'drive-alone' mode dominates at 39%. While far better than elsewhere in the Bay Area and much of the U.S., transit remains clearly in second place at 32%.

December 2 - San Francisco Examiner

Robin Rather, CEO of Collective Strength, speaks about how planners can build support for planning in their communities and counter critics.

December 2 - APA

Trail Towns, a program that promotes the economic potential of rails-to-trails systems, explains how art can create a sense of place and promote creative reuse along the trail.

December 2 - Trail Towns

Josh Stephens writes that while Al Queda seems obsessed with air travel, they have attacked transit in other countries and the U.S. system is vulnerable.

December 2 - InTransition

The Boston Public Market construction has been slow going - in fact, it's still in the blueprint stage - but officials say work will begin this summer in a site along the Rose Kennedy Greenway, the part built over the Big Dig site.

December 2 - The Atlantic Cities

Walmart talks big about climate action, but its land-use strategy is anything but climate-friendly: It builds massive new stores on virgin land in sprawling areas, then abandons them in favor of still newer, still bigger stores, says Stacy Mitchell.

December 2 - Grist

A group of McGill University planners have released a report on municipal funding highlighting untapped sources of revenue. The most glaring of them: fees levied on developers to pay for city services.

December 2 - The Gazette

Chumbo (Chinatown Under the Manhattan Bridge) is drawing young creative types to a slice of Chinatown with--what else--low rent. Is this neighborhood within a neighborhood big enough for long-time residents and newcomers?

December 2 - The Wall Street Journal

In Milwaukee, a new express service will operate on three new routes which will begin service on January 29th, 2012. In addition to the new service, MCTS is restructuring a number of other routes, and creating new routes as well.

December 1 - Urban Milwaukee

The Netherlands gains the title of 'Safest Place to Cycle,' which is mainly due to their extensive infrastructure. But how did these high quality cycle paths come to exist?

December 1 - Sustainable Cities Collective