The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Despite laws meant to protect open space and limit sprawl development, developers in Washington have found a legal way to get major housing projects approved in Washington.

January 14 - Crosscut

Motorists driving into San Francisco during the morning rush hour are getting onto the Bay Bridge four minutes faster since July, largely due to congestion pricing.

January 14 - AltTransport

Urbanization is taking up a rapid pace in China. Though much of the planning going on is of the cookie-cutter variety, some say the Chinese need to pay more attention to growing their cities vertically.

January 14 - What Matters

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire is part of a growing national trend of empowering local government with areas that have been run by states, such as education. Reporter David Brewster says this is a movement the right and left can agree on.

January 13 - Crosscut

A new musical has been written about Robert Moses and his impact on New York City. Robert A. Caro, Moses' Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, attends a rehearsal.

January 13 - The New York Times

The Commercial District Advisor and LISC have selected five businesses as "The Best Chains on Main", recognizing their commitment to economic revitalization and dedication to improving their communities.

January 13 - The Commercial District Advisor

Funding shortage, collapse of I35-W Bridge, prompt community to prioritize maintenance over construction.

January 13 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

FEATURE

January 13 - Tim Halbur

Jarrett Murphy reviews The Battle for Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs" by Roberta Brandes Gratz, and concludes that it is a nuanced interpretation of the classic showdown.

January 13 - City Limits

Jeff Prant of Carbusters pays a visit to New York's Times Square, and marvels at its transformation into a true public square.

January 13 - Carbusters Online

With a fleeing population, Youngstown, Ohio was ahead of the current trend on "shrinking cities." So what can planners learn from Youngstown's example?

January 13 - New Urban Network

Cities across the developing world are dealing more with rising obesity rates as urbanization occurs, reports TheCityFix's Jonna McKone.

January 13 - TheCityFix

The city still known for its smog will not have its buses to blame - the last of its diesel-fueled ones retired Jan. 12 in a celebration. All but 7 of the 2,221 buses will be compressed-natural-gas powered; electric and gas-electric the remainder.

January 13 - Los Angeles Times: Environment

RThe impact of cities is spreading beyond local and even national borders, argues Robert Neuwirth in this piece from <em>What Matters</em>.

January 13 - What Matters

While Planned Parenthood isn't even currently considering an office in Gardner, Mass., opponents of the nonprofit have petitioned the Planning Board to create zoning limitations that would exclude them from opening up shop.

January 12 - Telegram & Gazette

One of columnist Steve Berg's New Year's resolutions is to explain to how supporting urbanist ideas like using cars less and retrofitting suburbs come from sound principles and aren't based in elitism.

January 12 - The Minneapolis Post

The decline in housing prices during the Great Depression of the thirties peaked at a average loss of 25.9%. In November of last year, the current decline ticked past that landmark to hit 26%.

January 12 - The San Jose Mercury News

Beyond the fact that supplying lots of parking encourages driving, a new study quantifies the environmental impact of parking lot construction.

January 12 - The Infrastructurist

The Record talks with June Williamson, co-author of the popular book "Retrofitting Suburbia", about the importance of preparing suburbs for a new and different future.

January 12 - The Record

Critic Philip Kennicott attends a lecture by architect Robert Gatje on great public squares and bemoans the fact that Washington, D.C. has a serious lack of them.

January 12 - The Washington Post