The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Plans to redesign the expanded publicly accessible section of the White House's front lawn combine both walkability concerns and safety concerns.

July 13 - The Architect's Newspaper

Despite a budget significantly smaller than his predecessors had, Los Angeles Planning Director Michael LoGrande is hoping to bring about major changes in the way the city gets things done.

July 13 - LA Downtown News

A new finding by Univ. of Wisconsin Population Health Institute reveals that when the health variable is isolated, suburban living beats living in the city and in rural areas.

July 12 - The Wall Street Journal

Six pilot cities are selected for the launch of a new federal, interagency initiative know as 'Strong Cities, Strong Communities': Fresno, New Orleans, Detroit, Cleveland, Memphis and Chester, PA.

July 12 - The White House blog

In a two-part podcast, James Howard Kunstler dissects Ed Glaeser's recent presentation at CNU. Kunstler's main argument is that Glaeser's theories are based in past evidence - Kunstler believes scarcity of energy is going to change everything.

July 12 - The KunstlerCast

Increasingly seen as an ineffective tool, the property tax limiting Proposition 13 has been derided in California for decades. Now, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa looks to be willing to argue against the politically sensitive law.

July 12 - Los Angeles Times

A group of mayor in the metropolitan Vancouver area have proposed an increase in the gas tax to develop a fund for a long-stalled transit project.

July 12 - The Globe and Mail

The Council of Community & Economic Research pulled together data on the 340+ urban areas in the U.S. and determined which are the most affordable to live in. Texas cities come out on top.

July 12 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

While some have pigeonholed him as anti-business, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is taking the city through the recovery of the economy in a positive but potentially hard-to-swallow way, according to this column.

July 12 - The Seattle Times

Rail projects throughout the U.S. are hard hit by the downturn in the economy. The agencies behind them are trying to find ways to keep the projects from falling apart.

July 12 - Architect Magazine

New playground designs are shaking up public parks around the world. So long, slides, hello interpretive playscapes.

July 12 - Dwell

Legislation in California that officially dissolves its redevelopment agencies offers them the chance to stay alive -- but at a cost that may be too high for some.

July 12 - The Architect's Newspaper

The city of Murcia, Spain recently opened a new streetcar system, and is offering lifetime passes to the trolley for anyone who gives up their car for good.

July 11 - Shareable

The sometimes decades-long gap between cause and effect makes it difficult to reverse long-standing transportation & planning policies, says Ben Brown.

July 11 - PlaceShakers

The rate of workers who commute by bike continues to increase, but it reflects a decidedly white demographic, specifically men. The Washington Post examines biking through the lens of race and gender.

July 11 - The Washington Post

George Skelton of The Los Angeles Times contends that one of Schwarzenegger's biggest blunders as governor of California was lowering the vehicle license fee to 0.65%.

July 11 - The Los Angeles Times

Scheduled to open in two months on the day after the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, project architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker discuss their masterpiece.

July 11 - The Wall Street Journal

FEATURE

Jay Walljasper argues that the era of specialized, Spandex-clad bicyclists dominating the road is coming to an end - the future is in normal folk taking to the road and taking advantage of the numerous benefits to society that comes from bicycling.

July 11 - Jay Walljasper

Airlines argue in the European Court of Justice that the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is an overreach when imposed on flights to/from Europe.

July 11 - The Economist

U. of Toronto economist Matthew Turner discusses his study that shows that building more traffic lanes attracts more traffic. Likewise, providing more transit may lure motorists out of their cars, but those motorists are replaced.

July 11 - NPR:All Things Considered