The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>Cyclists are teaming up in Delhi, forming a club to promote the bike as a better transportation alternative than the cars that are increasingly flooding the city's streets.</p>

January 17 - BBC

<p>This op-ed looks at Naples, Italy, where protests over a garbage dump have halted collections and left rubbish piling in the city's streets. Though unpleasant,writes the author, the situation should not be surprising.</p>

January 16 - The New York Times

<p>Global warming is exacerbating the threat of flooding in low-lying areas such as Holland and California's Sacramento Delta. Politicians in California are looking to Holland for examples of how to prevent flooding from happening.</p>

January 16 - NPR

<p>Beijing is in the midst of a wide-scale revitalization effort to prepare itself for the 2008 Olympic games. Included in this effort is a citywide conservation plan targeting 25 areas in the city. But the term "conservation" is loosely defined.</p>

January 16 - The Australian

<p>Funding for L.A.'s rail projects is lowering transit ridership, according to this op-ed based on an analysis of transportation spending, subsidies and boarding statistics.</p>

January 16 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>Liverpool is currently undergoing a broad revitalization effort, including more than 40 buildings and a brand new city center. This article from <em>Building</em> talks with the man in charge of it all.</p>

January 16 - Building

<p>In an effort to standardize its procedures, the city of Seattle is considering a plan to give homeless people 48 hours of notice before they are forced to clear out encampments on city property.</p>

January 16 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

<p>Architype Review profiles 8 Civic Buildings in the words and images of their design teams.</p>

January 16 - ArchiType Review

<p>The powerful northern California "megaregion" was revealed when it was awarded $840 million by the state Transportation Commission to the amazement and chagrin of southern California, which had been expecting to receive the majority of state funds.</p>

January 16 - The Contra Costa Times

<p>The article explores a tourist village in Bangalore where affluent Indians can experience a rural lifestyle. It is the showcasing of all things old, traditional and rural -- which are less and less a part of the lives of many Indians.</p>

January 16 - BBC

<p>There is growing evidence that the gravest peril for ocean species may be posed by “the other CO2 problem” — acidification of the world’s oceans as a consequence of the influx of carbon dioxide generated by human activities.</p>

January 16 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments

BLOG POST

<p> <strong>Matching Obstacles and Techniques</strong> <em>(Part one of two)</em><br /> <br /> Creating Smart Growth in our metropolitan areas is generally more complex than conventional auto-oriented development, more expensive, and requires more public involvement and coordination. The strong policies and regional cooperation planners desire to coordinate development have proven politically challenging. Unless planners are able to create systems that overcome these obstacles our efforts to encourage Smart Growth will be stymied. Luckily solutions are available, but they must be as nimble and resourceful as the forces they hope to counter. </p>

January 15 - Robert Goodspeed

<p>An offshore wind power farm proposed for construction in the Nantucket Sound has been found to have only minimal environmental effects, clearing the way for the project's federal approval as soon as the end of the year.</p>

January 15 - The Boston Globe

<p>The first 4.7 miles of a streetcar network have been funded along a major corridor in Northern Virginia.</p>

January 15 - The Washington Post

<p>Salt Lake City's hip art center has experienced gentrification with the ironic turn of yuppie retail making the neighborhood less safe. Now property owners and artists will need to find a new agreement.</p>

January 15 - Utah Stories

<p>With thousands of its homes abandoned and public works projects permanently postponed for lack of revenue, Cleveland is filing suit against 21 of the nation's largest banks for their role in the subprime mortgage fiasco.</p>

January 15 - The New York Times

<p>Plans to keep nearly 80% of downtown L.A.'s industrial lands exclusively industrial has developers and business leaders up in arms.</p>

January 15 - L.A. Downtown News

<p>The U.S. needs a strong national housing policy -- not just to house the needy, but to save money and improve lives in a wide variety of ways, according to this op-ed.</p>

January 15 - Movement Vision Lab

<p>A streetcar has been proposed for Pechtree Street in Atlanta, but with the bulk of project's funding to come from a tax hike along the streetcar's route, some are concerned that gathering political support will be difficult.</p>

January 15 - Creative Loafing

<p>Richard Florida tours the University of Toronto and finds that its seamless "organic" integration with downtown Toronto makes it a unique "town-gown" success story.</p>

January 15 - The Globe & Mail