The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

BLOG POST

<p> In a recent blog post,(1) highway expert Alan Pisarski suggests that highway-oriented sprawl development is somehow necessary for the development of modern labor markets.(2) Pisarski writes that regional job markets are jobs are more specialized today than they were in his youth, and labor markets are thus &quot;of immense size because many [highly specialized] employers need a market of hundreds of thousands of potential workers to reach the ones they need. The Atlanta region of 26 counties is not a great economic engine because it is 26 charming adjacent hamlets, but rather because the market reach of employers, suppliers, customers and job seekers spreads over several million residents.&quot; </p>

November 16 - Michael Lewyn

A 2007 agricultural census found 33,762 barns in Ohio, but commentator Alan Miller says that those barns are quickly disappearing, ravaged by neglect or picked apart for salvage. Miller says something must be done to save this heritage.

November 16 - The Columbus Dispatch

Federal funds come with a price - in order to hold on to $972m awarded to the Central Subway project, San Francisco's MUNI needs to come up with at least $137m by February.

November 16 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Cities in the C40 climate leadership group from across the globe are looking into improving taxi services, citing them as key to mobility in urban centers.

November 16 - TheCityFix

Appreciation of diversity, social offerings, and aesthetics trump jobs, economy, and safety according to a new survey by Gallup/Knight.

November 16 - John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Portland wants to create a series of "20-minute neighborhoods" -- places where people can walk, within 20 minutes, to most of the places they need to go and the services they need. Some neighborhoods are already there, but others have a ways to go.

November 16 - PlanningPool

By looking at three Los Angeles examples of very short rail lines, writer Alissa Walker suggests that seemingly pointless but fun transit systems could be the best way to use transit to improve urban areas.

November 16 - Gelatobaby

Conventional oil supplies peaked at about 70 million barrels a day in 2006 according to the IEA, and will hold steady until 2035. However demand, primarily from China, will require an increase of 20% in oil to be filled by 'unconventional' supplies.

November 16 - The New York Times - Environment - Green blog

Robert Steuteville comments on a recent article by Alan Pisarski that he says "regurgitates many of the heavy-handed arguments of the pro-sprawl, pro-highway crowd" in reaction to the Obama Administration's livability agenda.

November 16 - New Urban Network

Brickell Avenue in Miami is in one of the most densely populated areas in Florida. FDOT is slated to begin a major resurfacing project here, but refuses to consider additional crosswalks or bike infrastructure, ignoring pressure from locals.

November 15 - Miami Herald

A new essay by Thomas Fisher details Frederick Law Olmsted's lesser known work in the realm of public health and sanitation.

November 15 - The Design Observer Group

The likelihood of being poor and what it’s like to be poor are different in different types of places, and which policies might work to reduce poverty also varies by type of place, says Bill Barnes.

November 15 - Nation's Cities Weekly

Transportation consultant Ken Orski looks at post-election results in OH, WI, and FL as consistent with Newsweek's Robert J. Samuelson's pre-election column calling for an end to what he sees as wasteful and inappropriate high speed rail investment.

November 15 - Innovation NewsBriefs via InfrastructureUSA

FEATURE

Architect William A. Browne, Jr., FAIA, LEED AP, explains how he and his firm use narrative when designing buildings and spaces.

November 15 - William A. Browne Jr.

Joe Peach explains the technology behind five materials that will dramatically increase sustainability in the building industry. Among the list are wool bricks which are stronger, greater insulators and don't require firing to set.

November 15 - This Big City

Federal incentives have set off a rush to get solar power plants permitted for the California deserts. Plants approved before January could cover a combined 53 square square miles. Clean energy fans are happy. Desert tortoises, not so much.

November 15 - California Planning & Development Report

A new group of activists in Los Angeles is warning that recently approved changes to the city's planning code could make it easier for transit-related projects to be approved even if they are not in alignment with neighborhood planning documents.

November 15 - Streetsblog L.A.

Just months after the completion of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, expensive stadia built for the event sit empty and unused.

November 15 - Bleacher Report

A study of cyclists in Ashland, Oregon has found three distinct types of bike riders, the majority of which are interesting in riding, but concerned about safety issues.

November 15 - Ashland Daily Tidings

BLOG POST

<span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman">Virtually every modern economy is mixed: governments produce some goods and services and private companies produce others. Governments generally provide those goods and services that are either considered essential and should be available to everybody regardless of ability to pay, or that require strategic coordination, including police protection, basic education, transportation infrastructure, parks, and public health services.</span> <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman">Transportation facilities and services are among these basic government functions.

November 15 - Todd Litman