The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Fort Worth Planner Tapped To Lead New Orleans Planning Advisory Team

Fort Worth City planner Fernando Costa has been tapped to lead an APA-formed team of five planners in advising New Orleans' city staff as they regroup after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

September 29 - Star-Telegram

Studying What Makes A Neighborhood Walkable

A new King County, WA study shows that residents in the most walkable neighborhoods are over twice as likely to be physically active than people who live in the least walkable neighborhoods.

September 29 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Rail Could Have Aided Evacuations

Too few buses didn't work for New Orleans, and too many cars didn't work for Houston. Rail is the third way.

September 29 - The New York Times

Escaping Hurricane Katrina By Bike

Man and his dog leaves New Orleans on foot, and rides the rest of the way on a donated bike.

September 29 - Lamar Daily News

FEATURE

The Need For Improved Democracy In Planning

September 29 - Ken Snyder


China's Massive Sustainable Development Experiment

The village of Huangbaiyu will be part of an innovative joint U.S.-China development project to create an ecologically-balanced area. Could this be a model for China's new urbanism?

September 28 - Newsweek

The Despoiling of Alberta

Famous for its oil wealth and the "prosperity cheques" being handed out to every resident, the Canadian Province of Alberta is actually a classic example of rapacious growth, dangerously poor planning and poor performance on social development indicators.

September 28 - The Globe and Mail


A Plan To Raise Galveston

The article, which first appeared in 1990, details plans made after the September 8, 1900 hurricane to reshape the city of Galveston to prevent vulnerability to flooding.

September 28 - American Heritage

University To Demolish Frank Gehry Building

University of California, Irvine administrators cite structural deterioration in their decision to demolish a building designed by famed architect Frank Gehry.

September 28 - New University Paper

Rebuilding New Orleans Without The Poor

Are developers seeking to rebuild New Orleans planning to develop a new, whiter and richer city?

September 28 - AlterNet

Developers Replacing Architects As Household Names In San Diego

Since the 1950s, developers have done more to shape the city of San Diego than architects, for better and worse.

September 28 - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Was The Gulf Coast A Result Of Global Warming?

While it may be tempting to blame hurricanes Katrina and Rita on global warming, an MIT climatologist says that it's wrong to blame any single event on long-term climate change. However, the power of tropical storms is increasing.

September 28 - MIT Technology Review

Los Angeles' Smog: The New Threat to Public Health

Just when it looked like Los Angeles might be win the war on smog, a new and more deadly form of air pollution stalks the region

September 28 - L.A. Weekly

Highway Capacity: A Public Safety Issue?

In a post-9/11 and post-Katrina world, where mass evacuations mean an exodus in private vehicles, does a lack of appropriate freeway capacity represent a public safety hazard, asks Wendell Cox.

September 28 - National Review

Middleton Hills, a New Urbanism Success Story?

As housing prices continue to rise, Middleton Hills moves further and further away from the reach of the middle class.

September 28 - The Capital Times

Key Ingredients for the World's Tallest Skyscrapers

ArchNewsNow features an interview with Ron Klemencic, Chairman of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, on the characteristics of a successful skyscraper project.

September 28 - ArchNewsNow.com

Determining the Value of Historic Preservation

Randall Mason examines the difficulties of evaluating the economics of historic preservation, analyzing various approaches and the literature in the field.

September 27 - The Brookings Institution

Army Corps of Engineers Requests $40 Billion For Post-Katrina Projects

The money, part of the larger Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief and Economic Recovery Act, would fund a variety of projects, but is drawing a storm of controversy. The amount is 16 times the amount previously needed to protect New Orleans from a Category 5 hurricane.

September 27 - The Washington Post

Wal-Mart Theme For Local Recall Election

Votes against WalMart annexation get voters riled in Jefferson, WI.

September 27 - Wisconsin State Journal

New Orleans: Plan for Racial Equality and Environmental Justice

The Steering Committee of Planners Network suggests how the New Orleans planning and rebuilding process can create a more equitable, healthy, and just city.

September 27 - Planners Network

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