The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A Brookings Institute report shows that the difference between crime in the suburbs and cities has drastically decreased, and argues that the current drop in crime rates weakens the correlation between ethnic groups and crime.

July 6 - The Brookings Institution

A new series from the BBC tracks six homeowners trying to convert historic (or just plain old) buildings into modern homes.

July 6 - The Telegraph

Designer Mark Noad has created a new, more geographically accurate map of London's extensive subway system, "The Tube." Noad tips his hat to the classic, but says more lines have emphasized the inaccuracies.

July 6 - Mark Noad

When Colorado transportation officials sought an example of effective bus rapid transit to visit while developing a system of their own, they headed to an unexpected source.

July 6 - Daily Camera

The City Parks blog looks at Santa Fe Railyard Park and Plaza, one of the winners of this year's Rudy Bruner Awards for Urban Excellence.

July 6 - City Parks Blog

Rust Belt poster child Youngstown, Ohio made waves almost a decade ago with its revolutionary plan for "controlled shrinkage." But progress has been slow in a political system still wired for growth.

July 5 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Whether in Cupertino, Calif. or Curitiba, Brazil, cities are starting an aggressive move toward sustainability in the Americas. In this evolution, technology, citizen involvement and innovation will play a role transforming cities, Leon Kaye writes.

July 5 - Guardian

The City Council of Beverly Hills has been outspoken against the MTA's plans to run a subway under the city. This Thursday, they're considering pulling together $350 thousand to fund their opposition.

July 5 - Canyon News

Dennis Hincamp says Logan, Utah, where he lives, has an identity crisis when it comes to development, swinging wildly between pro-growth to NIMBY. He sees this as indicative of the relative youth of many cities in the American West.

July 5 - The Salt Lake Tribune

BLOG POST

<p> <span><span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">It’s the middle of summer and few people are thinking about the return to school. However, in the coming month or two new students will need to start interacting with their faculty adviser. The following tips can help make it a productive relationship.</span></span></span><span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small"> </span></span> </p>

July 5 - Ann Forsyth

The new "Eco-Drive Index" offers a mode of comparing the average monthly environmental impact by an individual U.S. driver who has purchased a new vehicle that month.

July 5 - TheCityFix.com

The DOT awarded a billion and a half in grants to transit projects on the Fourth of July. Eric Jaffe has the lowdown on projects from Connecticut to Colorado.

July 5 - The Infrastructurist

The only true PRT in the United States, the system serves 15,000 students of West Virginia University each day when school is in session. Some even credit the school's growth to the effectiveness of the PRT.

July 5 - Governing Magazine

County of Riverside Supervisor Jeff Stone proposes breaking up California in order to form a new "State of South California."

July 5 - Los Angeles Times

The Economist argues that heavy reliance on solar power as an alternative energy source will not help Britain meet its greenhouse-gas reduction targets in 2050 due to operational and financial infeasibilities.

July 5 - The Economist

The Obama administration is proposing new mileage and emissions standards for U.S. vehicles. By 2025, American automakers will have to manufacture cars that achieve 56.2 miles per gallon (mpg).

July 4 - The New York Times

The center of protest in Yemen's capital city of Sana'a has turned into a massive tent city, with more than 4,000 tents and a variety of services, public spaces and pop-up industries.

July 4 - Der Spiegel

Portland leads the nation is sustainability and in fact, may be responsible for starting this movement, but its economy remains mediocre and it is one of America's least diverse cities. Urbanophile's Aaron M. Renn explains why.

July 4 - Urbanophile

Created by President Obama in response to the BP oil spill last summer, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Task Force is now working on a project that restores the flow of sediments to wetlands in Texas. Funding from BP helps facilitate the costly process.

July 4 - USA Today

This top 10 list from Grist highlights the global cities best prepared to handle climate change.

July 4 - Grist