The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

BLOG POST

<p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Courier New'">Over various blog posts through the last few years, I&#39;ve shared some of the key steps and stages leading to the eventual unanimous Council approval of <a href="/node/33517" target="_blank">Vancouver&#39;s EcoDensity Initiative</a>. Since then the EcoDensity Charter and new policies have been changing the way we think about density, green building and site design, and our ecological footprint in and outside of city hall. We&#39;ve also been moving forward on various EcoDensity actions approved in principle by Council back in 2008.

July 14 - Brent Toderian

In the continuing battle between architects and Prince Charles, the Prince has resigned from the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings after it rejected the foreword he had written for an upcoming handbook on restoration.

July 14 - The Independent (UK)

This interactive map from <em>Good</em>'s Water issue highlight seven regions in the world that are likely to experience conflict over water shortages.

July 14 - Good

BLOG POST

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">All forms of public decision-making are subject to controversy and competing expectations. Many of these relate to the perceived utility gained -- or disutility incurred -- through public expenditures.

July 14 - Michael Dudley

Federal stimulus money is bringing a new health center to a Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Locals are hopeful that the new development will add some prosperity to their poor area, but nobody's especially confident that it will.

July 14 - The New York Times

A paper published earlier this year by a team of professors argues that cities need to learn to become more resilient as resources become more scarce.

July 14 - ASLA's The Dirt blog

The city of Vancouver is going to begin requiring that a certain amount of electric car charging stations be included in all new residential developments.

July 14 - CBC

This op-ed piece in the Globe and Mail argues that plans for a high-speed rail link between the Albertan cities of Calgary and Edmonton makes eminent sense -- at least, according to the thinking of Richard Florida and colleagues.

July 14 - The Globe and Mail

Julia Galef takes a look at Secure Cities, a new website that maps the effect of security measures on public space since 9/11.

July 14 - Metropolis Magazine

The City of New York has unveiled its Housing Asset Renewal Program, a plan to revive stalled projects as affordable housing.

July 14 - The Architect's Newspaper

The late columnist Emmett Watson set the tone in Seattle for keeping the small bungalow, suburban character of the city. Today, New Urbanists and others are working to redefine Seattle's landscape post-Watson with denser, affordable buildings.

July 13 - The Seattle Times

This piece looks at a public art project that placed 30 pianos in public places throughout London in an effort to encourage more public interaction.

July 13 - The New York Times

Fighting gang crime in Los Angeles is as easy as leaving the lights on at neighborhood parks.

July 13 - The New York Times

The White House is setting forth on its long-planned mission to craft a federal urban policy program. The effort kicks off with a daylong conference today.

July 13 - The Washington Post

According to a new draft master plan, the Clairborne Expressway may be the next freeway to join the nation's growing highway to boulevard movement.

July 13 - The Times-Picayune

The Portuguese Coast is one of the most energetic in the world, and is the first country to have a commercial-scale wave energy device in the water. Now, they're planning a "pilot zone" for expanding the technology.

July 13 - Renewable Energy World

Officials in New Mexico, Colorado and Texas are pooling efforts to try to secure federal funding for a high speed rail link between their urban areas.

July 13 - The Houston Chronicle

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has said he wants to bring park programs back into the lives of urban dwellers. This piece argues that a good place for him to start is one of the few urban national parks at St. Louis' Gateway Arch.

July 13 - STL Today

Light rail is seen as a golden opportunity to revive inner cities. Not so fast, argues Alan Hoffman.

July 13 - Citiwire

FEATURE

Opinions are flying in the debate over whether or not ailing cities like Detroit should bulldoze their empty neighborhoods. John Kromer of the Fels Institute of Government adds a rational note with this op-ed, explaining what The Flint Model for shrinking cities actually entails.

July 13 - John Kromer