The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Abandoned and foreclosed properties are plaguing many cities. Now some are trying to turn the blight into prosperity by creating land banks to hold, remodel or demolish the properties -- and pull in some revenue while they're at it.

July 13 - USA Today

A New Zealand inventor has built a track for the world's first human-powered monorail called the Shweeb as part of an amusement park [Video]

July 12 - CTV

London's iconic red double-decker buses are going green.

July 12 - Wired

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has issued a directive that seeks to mandate healthy eating and food production in the city.

July 12 - San Francisco Chronicle

Michael Jackson's life would have been incredibly different (read: more normal) and lasted longer if he lived in New York instead of L.A., argues Gigi Levangie Grazer. She says the isolating qualities of L.A. enabled the downfall of the King of Pop.

July 12 - The Huffington Post

Budget issues are causing major issues for a handful of states. Neal Peirce argues these budget woes are a sign that states are making the wrong investments and that they idea of a state may be out of date.

July 12 - Citiwire

The posh San Francisco Bay Area town of Tiburon is planning to install cameras that record the license plate numbers of all cars coming into town. Police will use the system to apprehend criminals or investigate crimes.

July 11 - San Francisco Chronicle

The "smart" grid powered by renewable energy sources is likely to be fundamentally different from the current electricity system in more ways than one. Some say it won't be as large-scale as it is now. That's not what utility companies want to hear.

July 11 - Fast Company

Columnist Frank Gruber seeks to define an urbanism separate from New Urbanism, Post-Urbanism, and 'Everyday' Urbanism: what he calls "Cityism."

July 11 - The Huffington Post

Citing the important role they tend to play in storylines, the <em>Architects' Journal</em> lists off the top 10 cities from comic books.

July 11 - Architects' Journal

A Russian manufacturer has announced plans to build a nuclear energy plant on a floating platform near the Bering Sea.

July 11 - The New York Times

Artists in Brooklyn are filling a void by converting construction dumpsters into swimming pools.

July 10 - Ready Made

While it didn't transform personal mobility and lead to the redesign of urban areas, the Segway has found some unexpected forms of popularity.

July 10 - Slate.com

With a housing market full of new condos and converted loft buildings, Chicago is becoming a popular place to purchase a vacation home.

July 10 - The New York Times

Bogota, Colombia's bus rapid transit system is seen as a shining example of how buses can make up a good public transportation system in cities. It's also being looked at as a model for fighting climate change.

July 10 - The New York Times

Several communities in South Florida are suing the state government over the recent passage of a law that allows exurban development to occur even if there is no adequate transportation infrastructure in place.

July 10 - The Miami Herald

The new public plazas in New York City have gained much popularity among locals -- and earned much money for the city. Officials have been renting out the spaces to advertisers, blurring the lines between public and private.

July 10 - The New York Times

Fountains are highly effective at attracting shoppers, say retail operators REIT Macerich. Their annual survey of 7,000 shoppers says that shoppers connect fountains with a positive shopping experience.

July 10 - Retail Traffic Magazine

The housing boom has busted in a tiny village in the West African country of Guinea, where homebuilders had constructed rows of new mud houses in hopes of cashing in on the rising demand for housing and its rising costs. Now, they sit empty.

July 10 - The Wall Street Journal

The Los Angeles Police Department's crime-tracking website has been omitting thousands of violent crimes. 40% of crimes reported so far in 2009 are not included in the public website.

July 10 - Los Angeles Times