The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Once a bastion of sprawl, the San Diego region is now embracing one of the most significant regional planning efforts in the nation's history. It is the first region in California to draft a Sustainable Communities Strategy, as mandated by SB 375.

June 3 - California Planning & Development Report

Suburban areas were once strongholds of corporate campuses and office parks. But there's a shift underway that's drawing companies back to cities.

June 2 - Grist

The Latin American population is on the rise in many parts of the country. Oregon is seeing its own shifts in population, and this piece takes a look at whats driving the changes.

June 2 - Oregon Public Broadcasting

Once thought to be only needed in dense inner cities, underground parking lots are being built now in suburban areas to reduce the use of space in tightening quarters.

June 2 - The Washington Post

Philadelphia is seeing a surge in new parks, as new public-realm projects are either opening or moving closer towards development.

June 2 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

South Korea is emerging as a new center of Asian mega development. With a variety of large-scale and small-scale projects, the country is taking a specific interest in sustainable development.

June 2 - The Architect's Newspaper

FEATURE

Landscape architect Laurie Olin says that to design well you have to be interested in how people behave. Johanna Hoffman gets in-depth with Olin about his design process.

June 2 - Johanna Hoffman

Urban explorer and urban ethnographer Bradley L. Garrett argues that the act of urban exploration has become increasingly misunderstood, and misinterpreted through the lens of a recent popular fascination with ruin fetishism.

June 2 - domus

This piece from <em>Places</em> delves into the history of the campsite, their use of space, and their role in modern culture.

June 2 - Places

In the latest installment of a year-long series about Los Angeles-focused books, <em>Los Angeles Times</em> architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne reads the 1981 book "L.A. Freeway: An Appreciative Essay," by David Brodsly.

June 2 - Los Angeles Times

Revived plans to build a large mixed-use development in Hollywood next to an iconic building are awakening some concerns about the potential loss of historic character.

June 2 - Los Angeles Times

Toronto's lack of focus on transportation planning and the absence of a national strategy for mobility is turning the city into a messy gridlock, according to this column.

June 2 - Globe and Mail

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie defunded the construction of the ARC Tunnel (connecting NJ to NY via increased rail service), claiming that it was fiscally irresponsible. Now, Christie is using state funds to finance the construction of a mega-mall.

June 1 - Sustainable Cities Collective

University of Toronto professors say that building more roads just encourages more driving. Building transit doesn't help reduce congestion either, though it still maximizes the value of the transportation system.

June 1 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

NPR reporter Jacob Fenston hits D.C. streets to interview folks about the nation's largest bikesharing program, with 12,000 members.

June 1 - NPR: Morning Edition

BLOG POST

<p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Courier New'"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Courier New'">As I heard a national reporter put it recently, it’s not often that an entire city is focused on one thing. In Vancouver it happened during the 2010 Winter Olympics. A year and a half later here, it’s happening again.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Courier New'"> </span> </p>

June 1 - Brent Toderian

A citywide brownfields recovery program in New York City has been cleaning up polluted sites, allowing new developments to move in on formerly vacant areas. But some worry the program is fueling gentrification.

June 1 - Gotham Gazette

Informal settlements like slums and favelas have been perplexing governments in Latin America for decades. A new report looks at two of the ways governments are addressing these areas, and the challenges that remain.

June 1 - Citiwire

Los Angeles' public transit authority has joined those of other major U.S. cities in providing a real-time tool for checking to see how soon buses will arrive at specific stops.

June 1 - Los Angeles Times

A city built secretly by the U.S. government to be a center for the design and development of the atomic bomb still stands today as an interestingly urban piece of U.S. history.

June 1 - Chicago Tribune