The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A new budget proposal in North Carolina could pull all funding for a long-planned extension of Charlotte's light rail system.

May 26 - The Charlotte Observer

FEATURE

Urban designer and architect Ken Greenberg writes "an eloquent, personal, compelling and persuasive argument for more enlightened city-building," says Michael Dudley in this review of Greenberg's new book [...]

May 26 - Michael Dudley

California's high speed rail project has been criticized for starting its first section in the state's central valley and connecting to small towns. But this piece argues that's exactly the right way to do it.

May 26 - Miller-McCune

Density reduces costs and helps make places more sustainable, according to this post in a series on "great places".

May 26 - Grist

Community members in Philadelphia have taken over a languishing site and put it back into use as a temporary park space.

May 26 - NewsWorks

A recent design competition aimed at reviving Miami's waterfront Marine Stadium has breathed new life into the area and offered innovative ideas for reusing the site.

May 26 - The Miami Herald

Seattle has been named one of the nation's safest p[laces to walk or bike. But some question whether that success will translate into any further improvements in bike and pedestrian infrastructure spending.

May 26 - Publicola

The border city of Juarez, Mexico, has been a flashpoint in the drug-fueled violence that has plagued many parts of Mexico. Recent figures show that nearly 25% of the homes there have been abandoned.

May 26 - El Paso Times

A vocal and dedicated contingent of residents have successfully rallied to halt plans to expand a highway in metropolitan Vancouver.

May 25 - Straight

The Triangle (The Raleigh-Durham area) has managed to attract a cluster of nearly 60 companies working on smart grid technology and infrastructure.

May 25 - News & Observer

Half the oil in the Persian Gulf has been pumped out of the ground - so has 'peak oil' been reached? Notably, that term doesn't even appear in the article. Instead, it discusses the difference between light and heavy oil, and the role of technology

May 25 - The Wall Street Journal - Business

The Tennessee town of Shelbyville has become a new center for Somalian refugees. A new documentary looks at what the influx of this group has meant to the city and its people.

May 25 - Miller-McCune

In this excerpt from a new book on Los Angeles, L.A.-based architect Michael Maltzan reflects on the city, and how its clashes and evolving identity are part of why it represents the future of cities.

May 25 - Places

Choreographer Jenni Bregman studied human use and interaction in urban areas to create her latest dance piece, "Intimate City."

May 25 - The Polis Blog

The 2012 Olympics are hoped to create a big economic boost for host city London. The event's long-term impacts on the environment, though, are still hard for organizers to predict.

May 25 - The Guardian

By analyzing maps and topographical information, this post from <em>Data Pointed</em> shows how the Mississippi River is likely to change course and head towards lower ground.

May 25 - Data Pointed

As aging populations grow, more cities and design organizations are looking at how to make streets safer for older residents.

May 25 - NPR

"Guerrilla gardening" is a growing movement where urban gardeners tend to vegetables on unused public land. But the allure of the illegal may disappear in Vancouver as city officials declare it legal.

May 25 - The Province

A new report from Transportation for America says that more than half of pedestrian fatalities happen on arterial roads that lack ped-friendly design - and therefore are preventable.

May 24 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Crematories produce a lot of waste heat. Is it sacrilegious to recycle that excess heat to warm a swimming pool, as is the plan in Redditch, England?

May 24 - Miller-McCune