The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Cities have filed a lawsuit with the California State Supreme Court over recently passed laws that eliminate funding for the state's redevelopment agencies.

July 19 - San Jose Mercury News

The small southern California town of Bell became notorious for corruption when the exploits of its city manager were revealed in a newspaper investigation. The crime highlights the power of the city manager and how those powers can be misused.

July 19 - Zocalo Public Square

A set of recommendations for changes to land-use regulations in Seattle is being highlighted by Mayor Mike McGinn as a way to both create sustainable neighborhoods and jobs. One of the authors of the recommendations explains.

July 19 - Crosscut

The first major American city to have a black majority, Washington D.C.'s demographics have shifted again.

July 19 - The New York Times

California's San Joaquin Valley has become a hotbed of foreclosed homes. But beyond mere statistics, these homes are real places, and a new series of photographs documents them as scenes of surrender and abandonment.

July 19 - Places

A new website uses Google Maps and your photographs to overlay images of the past on current locations.

July 19 - GOOD Magazine

In an effort to improve the visitor experience and boost business, operators of a busy transit hub in Boston are bringing in performers and various activities to entertain people waiting and convince others to linger longer.

July 19 - The Boston Globe

Plans are emerging to revamp the public space surrounding Philadelphia's 30th Street train station to create a more vibrant way to enter the city.

July 19 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

A new project at the National Building Museum is collecting information to better understand the built environment. <em>Next American City</em> talks with the program's curator, Susan Piedmont-Palladino.

July 19 - Next American City

A new documentary film delves into the complicated history, life and demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis.

July 18 - The Architect's Newspaper

Programmer and designer Eric Fischer has created a series of images that map the location of geo-coded images on Flickr and places where people are using Twitter.

July 18 - The City Fix

As the desire for wireless internet increases, some public parks are finding that Wi-Fi networks are becoming a new and important amenity.

July 18 - Time

Proportionally more women bike on New York City streets with protected bike lanes than not at all, and turning a painted lane into a protected one caused female ridership to soar.

July 18 - Streetsblog

FEATURE

Carmageddon failed to live up to the hype, as Los Angelenos opted to leave their cars in the garage. As the hysteria fades, Planetizen's Tim Halbur asks: is there a real story here about good transportation planning?

July 18 - Tim Halbur

Animator Roy Prol seems serious about his proposed "Clockwork City", which is made up of a series of concentric rings that keep the city always moving and supposedly making transit unnecessary.

July 18 - The Architect's Newspaper

Food trucks can be exciting for diners, but local businesses that face unexpected competition on their doorstep are less excited.

July 18 - The New York Times

Tom Vanderbilt reviews <em>The Big Roads</em> by Earl Swift, subtitled "The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways."

July 18 - The New York Times

As a Northeast Corridor connection to Atlantic City goes beyond the planning stage, historian Dennis Niceler reminds locals that the existed solely because of the railroads.

July 18 - The Press of Atlantic City

BLOG POST

As discussed in my previous column, An Inaccurate Attack On Smart Growth, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) sponsored a research program intended to raise doubts about smart growth’s ability to reduce vehicle travel [...]

July 18 - Todd Litman

MIMBYs? Seattle plans to build a one-story light-rail station in the Roosevelt neighborhood's commercial district, but locals are fighting for greater density and reducing zoning restrictions on the site.

July 18 - Seattle Post-Intelligencer