The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

'Pay as you drive' insurance will soon be a reality in California, surviving the state senate as a voluntary program that environmental groups say will encourage people to drive less by saving them money on their car insurance.

September 2 - San Francisco Examiner

One resident finds it surprisingly easy to live on Milwaukee's East Side without a car.

September 2 - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Volgograd, Russia (formerly Stalingrad) is getting a new mixed-use city center, designed with the idea of "shopping as museum and exhibition space".

September 2 - World Architecture News

A new study shows that city planners aren't following the guidelines established in last year's Gender Equality Duty, which requires planners to consider the different ways that women use public space.

September 2 - University of Cambridge

Rail advocates are getting their day, as they push for more high-speed rail lines- not just in California, but across the country.

September 2 - ABC

One-sixth of the total land in New York has been rezoned under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and some say it's fueling widespread gentrification. Community members affected by the changes are calling for more say in the future of their neighborhoods.

September 2 - The Gotham Gazette

America's infrastructure is in trouble, and according to author Barry B. LePatner, the flawed systems meant to alleviate these problems should take most of the blame. He offers some possible solutions.

September 2 - ArchNewsNow

In an agreement with fellow socialist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, former London Mayor Ken Livingstone has accepted a position in Caracas to advise the city on improving its transportation and crime issues.

September 2 - The Guardian

In Prague, where graffiti is rampant, an art gallery has secured outdoor wallspace throughout the city and invited graffiti artists to use it as a canvas for 12 days.

September 2 - Reuters

Sewage issues in Ottawa are bringing attention to the significant infrastructure problems associated with sprawl.

September 1 - The Ottawa Citizen

For the first time in recorded history, the Northwest and the Northeast passages are free enough of ice to be navigable. Shipping companies welcome this effect of global climate change.

September 1 - Der Spiegel

With Hurricane Gustav reaching land Monday, nearly 2 million people have been evacuated from coastal Louisiana. The evacuation is being hailed as a vast improvement from the effort three years ago during Hurricane Katrina, but some residents remain.

September 1 - New Orleans Times Picayune

The real estate industry has been slow to realize the development world is changing, according to Scott Polikov who writes that "the fundamentals of the 'bedroom community' economy have collapsed."

September 1 - Citiwire

A recent study has named the "smartest" cities in Canada.

September 1 - Maclean's

FEATURE

Pineville, North Carolina was expanding rapidly and at risk of losing its identity. To preserve the town's character, planners put their faith in the common brick. City planning officials Kevin Icard and Travis Morgan bring us the story.

September 1 - Kevin Icard

<em>Smart City</em> talks with economist Ed Glaeser and architecture critic Randy Gragg about cities, their histories and their futures.

September 1 - Smart City

BLOG POST

<p> Just spent 4 action-packed days (have <span style="font-style: italic" class="Apple-style-span">yo</span><span style="font-style: italic" class="Apple-style-span">u</span> ever tried to keep up with Dan Burden?) touring the Pacific Northwest with Dan, Paul Zykofsky, a very patient charter bus driver, and 40 +/- townmaking fanatics. Our assemblage came from as far away as New Zealand and Taiwan, from small towns and large cities, and from disciplines including planning, engineering, transportation, software design, elected officials, public health, bike advocates, and lots more. We toured communities in Washington state and in British Columbia, meeting local luminaries along the way. </p>

August 31 - Lisa Feldstein

Anthropologists have discovered traces of highly organized and gridded cities in the Amazon rainforest dating back to the 1200s.

August 31 - National Geographic

The State of California is considering a plan to allow pay-as-you-drive car insurance plans. Many hope the move will encourage less driving.

August 31 - The Los Angeles Times

Viviana Franco became a planner so she could reform a park 100 ft. from her childhood home in Hawthorne, CA. But her quest has become mired in local politics as the site was sold in a local auction.

August 31 - The Los Angeles Times