The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Volunteers Take On New Orleans' 'Greatest Enemy'

As the city struggles with garbage collection, an all-volunteer force rises to the challenge.

March 22 - The Los Angeles Times

California Mired In Its Own Levee Crisis

Officials, in a stalemate, struggle to find money for repairs - despite rising warnings of failing levees.

March 22 - The Christian Science Monitor

Court Reverses Bush Clean Air Rule

A clean air regulation by the Bush administration that would have allowed power plants to avoid installing new pollution controls was overturned by a federal appeals court.

March 22 - New York Times via Spartanburg Herald Journal

Los Angeles Housing Department's Ambitious Agenda

The Los Angeles Housing Department and its director, Mercedes Marquez, take a thorough, systematic approach to protecting renters and helping find and develop properties for workforce housing.

March 22 - The Planning Report

States With Most Toxic Air

New York and California have the most toxic air in the nation according to a new study released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

March 22 - The Los Angeles Times

L.A. Housing Speculators Moving Out

Housing peculators are taking their profits from Southern California and investing in hotter markets in Las Vegas and Arizona.

March 22 - The Los Angeles Times

The 'Rosetta Stone' Of Zoning Handbooks

The New York City Department of City Planning releases a new, easy-to-use handbook to make zoning understandable -- at least compared to the old, arcane Zoning Resolution.

March 22 - The New York Times

Is Lack Of Accessible Land Slowing India's Growth?

Are current zoning laws in Indian cities forcing their outward growth? Are these new developments creating more strain on public services than what already exists? What will be the economic impacts of such government policies?

March 22 - International Herald Tribune

Far Out! Fastest-Growing Counties In U.S. Are Exurban

Despite years of efforts on the part of planners and governments to promote "smart growth", census data shows that the fastest-growing counties in the U.S. are "suburban, rural or a mixture of both."

March 22 - MSNBC

How Not To Rebuild California's Infrastructure

Three months ago Gov. Schwarzenegger announced a landmark $222 billion plan to invest in California's infrastructure. Yet the state legislature has dealt a blow to crumbling bridges and congested freeways by failing to agree on a bond measure to fund it.

March 22 - The Metro Investment Report

A Plea To Restore Great Lakes

Environmentalists urge a Senate committee to restore and protect the five Great Lakes.

March 21 - The Chicago Tribune

Conserving America's Roadless Lands

Sixty million acres -- nearly one acre per five people in the country -- are unprotected, unzoned, roadless areas. Author T.A. Barron looks at efforts to protect these lands.

March 21 - The Los Angeles Times

Google Maps And The Big Apple's Potty Finding Problem

Rutgers planning professor Wansoo Im uses powerful GIS tools and mapping software to track down public restrooms in New York City.

March 21 - The New Yorker

A Different 'Bush' For Alternative Energy

A common plant has the potential to become generate enough fuel to supply electricity to a third of India's villages.

March 21 - BBC

Ballparks Generate Little Return for Cities

Many economists agree that cities get little return in the way of good jobs and tax dollars when investing public money into building new professional sports stadiums.

March 21 - The Boston Globe

Michigan Sinks As Leaders Cling To Old Formulas

A host of new problems faces Michigan in the 21st century, yet many state leaders have outmoded strategies for success in economic and community development.

March 21 - Michigan Land Use Institute