The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

After suffering a major setback from a court decision that prevents the authority from selling $10 billion in voter-approved bonds, a key federal agency has ruled that the authority must comply with environmental regulations before laying tracks.

December 6 - Los Angeles Times

Thriving bike share systems in DC and NYC are models for success. But other cities have struggled to create sustainable systems (DC's first effort failed, in fact). A new report offers a comprehensive guide to establishing bike share in your town.

December 6 - Treehugger

The EPA has seriously underestimated the emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas, methane, particularly from oil and gas activity (five times) and from cattle and livestock operations (two times), according to a new report published in the PNAS.

December 6 - The New York Times

With traffic deaths in New York City approaching falling homicide rates, calls for improving road safety are increasing. William Bratton, the former and future NYPD Commissioner, has signaled street safety will be a priority, exciting advocates.

December 6 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

Does not having the money to hire a world-class architect mean you shouldn't be able to build a well-designed house? A new website seeks to make high-quality design accessible to the masses with open source architecture.

December 5 - Wired

In a major economic speech delivered yesterday, President Obama called America's growing inequality and lack of upward mobility “the defining challenge of our time”. Though he may have diagnosed the disease, did he prescribe an effective cure?

December 5 - The New York Times

By a 5-4 margin, the Cincinnati City Council voted to pause the city's streetcar project in order to further study the costs of canceling it. If warnings from the federal government are to be taken seriously, the vote itself may kill the project.

December 5 - Cincinnati.com

Developers at Google and Amazon are among those working diligently to produce a near future full of autonomous cars and delivery devices. Economics professor Casey B. Mulligan suggests such advances will increase the value of urban land.

December 5 - The New York Times

Declining demand for zoning-mandated underground condominium parking has Toronto developers and architects talking about ways to design flexible sub-surface spaces to accommodate the possibility of alternate future uses.

December 5 - The Toronto Star

Don't ever accuse Rep. Earl Blumenauer of not thinking big. Accompanying his gas tax increase bill, he has proposed a bill to study ways to charge drivers by the miles they drive. One takes care of the funding problem now, the other in the future.

December 5 - The Hill's Floor Action Blog

Completed about every 15 years, Madrid's General Urban Plan sets out a long-term vision for the city's development. The newest iteration replaces a "dud" from 1997 that has "dogged the city for years," reports Feargus O'Sullivan.

December 5 - The Atlantic Cities

As federal investigators focus on the likelihood of human error being the cause of the Dec. 1 derailment that killed four passengers, attention has been placed on the federal requirement for all railroads to install positive train control systems.

December 5 - The Wall Street Journal - New York

As Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio prepares to take office at the beginning of the new year, speculation is growing as to who will succeed Mayor Bloomberg's popular commissioners. The Real Deal floats several candidates to become NYC's next chief planner.

December 5 - The Real Deal

Kevyn Orr, Detroit’s emergency manager, has expressed his belief that the city can clear its backlog of 78,000 blighted buildings within the next 18-36 months.

December 5 - Detroit Free Press

BLOG POST

This column expands on issues raised in a previous Planetizen blog, "Mythbusting: Exposing Half-Truths That Support Automobile Dependency," which examined criticisms of cycling facility investments and justifications for automobile-oriented planning.

December 4 - Todd Litman

A new report by U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group gives further credence to, and provides a more complete picture of, America's driving decline.

December 4 - DC.Streetsblog

New studies published this week challenge the 2 degree Celsius global warming threshold and call for an early warning system to monitor climate shifts.

December 4 - Grist

If you think your city is doing all it can to make its public spaces pleasant for all residents, think again. From “pig’s ears” to the "Camden Bench", Frank Swain explores the "secret tricks" cities use to make spaces uncomfortable and unattractive.

December 4 - BBC

A pilot project to extend the operating hours of Boston's subway system until 3 a.m. on weekends is being celebrated by riders, businesses leaders and public officials as a crucial element in maintaining a vibrant and attractive city.

December 4 - The Boston Globe

There are some cities that give you everything you need and others that make you work for it. This article profiles efforts to build a startup community in Tallahassee through the eyes of the city's growing network of entrepreneurs.

December 4 - This Big City