The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Nancy Levinson, editor of Places Journal, argues that it's time for feminist architects to engage the larger sphere of political activism with concrete objectives.

July 31 - Places Journal

Stuck with millions of square feet of superfluous parking like the Cascadian communities we examined yesterday? Joyce Law offers seven examples of creative repurposing of parking lots and garages for active uses in New York City.

July 31 - Untapped Cities

An expose has uncovered the 'cloak-and-dagger tactics' being utilized in a $1 million campaign to defend Dallas's Museum Tower luxury condo building from claims that glare from its glass skin is a nuisance to the Nasher Sculpture Center.

July 31 - The Dallas Morning News

Monorails, reinstating the 'commuter tax,' and a city takeover of the MTA are among the proposals being bandied about by the candidates vying to become New York City's next mayor. Just one problem: they're all pie in the sky, say observers.

July 31 - The Wall Street Journal

Rising property tax revenues, tax hikes, and the broader economic recovery are driving the longest municipal government hiring streak in the United States since 2008. However, many jobs eliminated during the recession won't be returning.

July 30 - The Wall Street Journal

San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center is just the latest example of an urban mega-project experiencing an enormous cost overrun. Eric Jaffe examines what the causes of this all too common phenomenon might be.

July 30 - The Atlantic Cities

A multi-decade vision will transform the auto-oriented DC suburb of Tysons Corner into a vibrant, walkable place. While the subway extension at the heart of the plan will open this year, development will take time. Pop-ups will help bridge the gap.

July 30 - The Washington Post

Surveys of parking use in multifamily buildings across Cascadia have quantified the extent to which parking requirements have 'force fed' more spaces into projects than developers would provide based on demand. Alan Durning examines the implications.

July 30 - Sightline Daily

In a world of seemingly infinite variety and excess, simplicity engenders great affection. Hazel Borys offers this query on the subject of cottage living: How is it that less adds up to so much more?

July 30 - PlaceShakers

A new governance structure will integrate central Paris with its suburbs in order to facilitate regional planning for 6.5 million inhabitants across 124 municipalities.

July 30 - The Atlantic Cities

Richmond, California is prepared to become the first city in the U.S. to use eminent domain, a power traditionally utilized to force owners to vacate their land in the name of the public good, for the purposes of stopping foreclosures.

July 30 - The New York Times

Police in the New Jersey town of Woodbury are going to extraordinary lengths to bust drivers for failing to yield to pedestrians.

July 30 - NJ.com

When the Bank of America Tower opened in 2010 it was praised as the world's first LEED Platinum skyscraper. But data on the building's performance, post-occupation, show that it's actually an energy hog and massive greenhouse gas polluter.

July 30 - The New Republic

The half-mile circle has become the standard metric for focusing planning efforts and judging the impacts of transit-oriented development. A new study examines whether the half-mile circle is an effective predictor of TOD success.

July 30 - Access

With 87 total waste-to-energy plants in the U.S., the country is only able to convert 12 percent of its trash to electricity (compared to 38 percent for Germany, for instance). Why is America still sending 55 percent of its trash to landfills?

July 29 - Governing

The addition of 50 new police cars, ramped up bus service, and long overdue streetlight repairs are all being planned as bankruptcy proceedings allow Detroit to increase funding for public services.

July 29 - Detroit Free Press

A 'toxic tour' of Los Angeles raises awareness of the harmful effects the city's industrial infrastructure brings to adjacent, often minority, communities. Stops include a battery recycling plant, rendering plant, oil refinery, and scrap yards.

July 29 - Los Angeles Times

Seeking to help improve the city's livability and boost its attraction to talented workers, the Miami Foundation has launched an open competition to identify, and ultimately build, neighborhood public spaces.

July 29 - Miami Herald

Government incentives have long sought to boost the viability of renewable energy sources. Though it accounts for less than a quarter of 1 percent of America's power generation, utility companies say its time to stop subsidizing solar.

July 29 - The New York Times

For those who have embraced cycling for leisure or their daily commute, being comfortable biking at night in urban environs may be the final frontier. Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan offers some tips for navigating darkened streets in style and safety.

July 29 - Grist