The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

According to this op-ed, allowing cities to de-densify undermines the importance of the city's role in society at large--namely, as a breeding ground for technological and cultural innovation.

June 23 - Los Angeles Times

The Architect's Journal selects the most significant architecture and urban design from the Star Wars films.

June 23 - The Architect's Journal

BLOG POST

<p> I can’t deny that one of my strongest personality traits is that of being a hard-core cheapskate.  So much so, that I feel obliged to caveat this post by saying that my initial reasons for getting into rooftop gardening were more to save money on buying fresh vegetables and fruit from our rather pricey local markets than any particular affection for gardening.  While it turns out that my wife and I probably do save money (surprisingly, I never ran the numbers), the joy of gardening, and the kick I get out of showing our rooftop garden off to friends, has far outweighed the economic benefits.  As counter-intuitive as it sounds, urban gardening is much easier than you might imagine.  The hardest part is overcoming the psychological hurdle of thinking that it is difficult, confusing, time-consuming, or takes up lots of space.  In fact, it is none of these things; you don’t need expensive, special equipment, or any particular skill.  You only need a window box, a fire escape, or a small patch of patio if that’s all you have.  If this geeky transportation engineer can grow tomatoes, so can you!

June 22 - Ian Sacs

The loss of NY's Penn Station spurred an entire movement in historic preservation. But it was not an isolated incident- The Infrastructurist looks at 10 beautiful train stations that fell to the wrecking ball.

June 22 - The Infrastructurist

BLOG POST

<p> After visiting Denver for the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) conference, I began to meditate on the relationship between Judaism and urbanism, and on how few cities accommodate both. In particular, I was impressed by how well-populated downtown Denver was compared to the southern cities where I have spent the past three years (Jacksonville) and this summer (Little Rock) - but I stll couldn’t imagine myself living in downtown Denver all that comfortably. </p>

June 22 - Michael Lewyn

Obama Administration officials, speaking at a conference of real estate writers and editors, admitted that the housing crisis is far from over and administration efforts are taking time to have an effect.

June 22 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Texas Governor Rick Perry recently vetoed a bill that would have created a state level "smart growth" program.

June 22 - New Geography

Philadelphia's City Council has approved two new measures that would preserve historic buildings along the Delaware River and require 100 ft. green setbacks. Some developers are protesting the ruling, saying it amounts to an illegal taking.

June 22 - Philadelphia Inquirer

Cities produce more CO2 per acre, but much less per person than other types of living, according to a new study by The Center for Neighborhood Technology.

June 22 - Chicago Sun-Times

Planners in New Jersey developed ambitious plans for transit-oriented development along their rail corridors, but with the struggling housing market and poor economy, developers aren't showing up or have halted projects in the works.

June 22 - The New York Times

The Economist magazine has published it's list of the most livable cities in the world. But quite a few of these cities have the most unaffordable housing, complains Owen McShane.

June 22 - New Geography

Some cities are change zoning laws to free smaller supermarkets from having to supply parking spaces in order to provide enough nutritious food to low-income residents.

June 22 - STREETSBLOG.ORG

Architect Michael Palwyn is designing sustainable architecture that combines solar power and seawater into an ultra-efficient loop of resource conservation.

June 22 - GOOD Magazine

FEATURE

June 22 - Robert Puentes

A number of famous architects believe that the Prince is subverting the planning process by using his royal influence to stymie projects.

June 22 - NY Times

A new technology in use in Sacramento, CA snaps pics of cars' tires and compares them on the next sweep, increasing the number of time violators caught.

June 21 - The Seattle Times

City officials in Chicago are demanding the removal of a high-rise crane which stands at the half-built Waterview Tower, a monument to the economic downturn.

June 21 - Chicago Sun Times

A new book by four public health researchers shows that global warming and obesity have the same causes- we drive too much, and carbon-intensive foods have become our daily bread.

June 21 - Grist

Next month, Vancouver will begin a two-and-a-half year incentive program to encourage developers to build affordable housing.

June 21 - The Globe and Mail

Dense Cairo has few sanctioned public spaces. So residents make do wherever they can.

June 21 - The New York Times