The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

At least 80 U.S. and Canadian cities have a streetcar system in the works or are considering it, says APTA. Julie Sneider at Progressive Railroading says transit manufacturers are seeing opportunity in those numbers.

September 13 - Progressive Railroading

When governments use public money to woo national chains, economic growth and job creation aren't worth the cost, says Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Independent retailers also suffer.

September 12 - Business Week

Artists are using the vacant buildings of the Rust Belt to create their art, and to comment on possibilities and visions for the future.

September 12 - Rust Wire

Michael Totty of The Wall St. Journal says cities need to be rethought to be leaner and greener. His list of suggestions includes district-level heating systems, micro wind turbines, and walking and biking.

September 12 - The Wall St. Journal

Chuck Wolfe says that urbanism that can readily occur in urban neighborhoods "without really trying" as people naturally come together in impromptu ways.

September 12 - myurbanist

Erica Stewart of the National Trust for Historic Preservation runs down a few of the ways that rebuilding efforts after the attacks on 9/11 took historic preservation into account.

September 12 - National Trust For Historic Preservation

Howard County, Maryland's Agricultural Land Preservation Program has taken advantage of the down market to purchase more than 1,000 acres of farmland.

September 12 - The Baltimore Sun

Bill Johnson says that Detroit would do well to remember 1987's People Mover, which cost 7 times more than projected and has never reached its expected ridership.

September 12 - The Michigan View

A warehouse and distribution center adjacent to a low-income community that would generate 1,500 additional daily diesel truck trips from the Ports of LA and Long Beach is the subject of an environment lawsuit that will be joined by AG Kamala Harris.

September 12 - Los Angeles Times

Heritage Toronto was lacking a budget to make new historic plaques, so heritage buff David Wencer arranged a "Twitterthon" to call attention to the 250 plaques that already exist.

September 12 - This Big City

Lehigh Valley, PA, which includes Allentown and Bethlehem, seems an unlikely place to find an exploding Hispanic population. Caitlin Dewey explains why Latinos have taken to this part of the Rust Belt.

September 12 - NEWS21

BLOG POST

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small"> </span> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">Recently I’ve had a number of undergraduate students ask how to make the most of internships—over the semester and in the breaks. The following represents some advice for current students.</span></span> </p>

September 11 - Ann Forsyth

John King makes it clear - the 4-story ring iCon (or doughnut, by some) would not work in urban San Francisco, but could be quite fitting for sprawling, suburban Silicon Valley.

September 11 - San Francisco Chronicle

Gov. Jerry Brown will soon be asked to sign a bill that would loosen environmental regulations on a downtown L.A. stadium, which would also be smothered in LED billboards.

September 11 - LA Weekly

Jonathan Lerner reports from Fresno, where sprawling development has clashed with agriculture, the region's bread and butter. A new regional plan hopes to preserve farmland and ease tensions.

September 11 - Miller-McCune

BLOG POST

<p class="Body"> <span>“<em>The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance</em>” </span><span style="font-style: normal">– President</span><span style="font-style: normal"> Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932 </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span>This being the decade anniversary of the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks, it seems a good time to consider how our society responds to such threats, and what planners can do to maximize safety.</span> </p>

September 11 - Todd Litman

Like systems used in electric vehicles like the Prius, an energy company think it could attach flywheels to subway trains and use the kinetic energy of their movement to generate energy that would feed back into the system.

September 11 - Inhabitat

Officials are at a loss to explain why parking tickets issued in New York's East Village have decreased by almost half between 2009 and 2010.

September 11 - DNAInfo

As bank-owned homes become a source of blight and crime, cities struggle to effectively hold banks accountable for their maintenance. Large banks tend to be the worst offenders, often failing to remove trash and weeds or paying fines.

September 10 - Contra Costa Times

A new park in Toronto includes a water treatment tower that, with artist Jill Anholt's help, creates a beautiful water feature that some say will be a catalyst for future development in the area.

September 10 - Water Canada