The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The LEED green building rating system doesn't acknowledge lumber from the state of Georgia as sustainable, so one state lawmaker suggests throwing out LEED altogether. Critics call it throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

March 25 - WABE

The unfolding saga of Cleveland's proposed Opportunity Corridor project has a new twist: community development organizations and bike advocates would like to add a protected bike path alongside the route.

March 25 - The Plain Dealer

Emily Badger of The Washington Post Wonkblog writes about a new study showing the economic benefits of converting street spaces in front of storefronts to parklets. Other options for street spaces include bike lanes, bikeshare docks, and bus lanes.

March 25 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

The Envision Downtown Initiative will focus on street improvements to improve public interactions.

March 25 - Pittsburg Post-Gazette

The Connected2045 plan lays out a 30-year vision for transportation projects in the St. Louis region, with attention paid to access, the environment, freight movement, alternative transportation, neighborhood preservation, and safety.

March 25 - nextSTL

Crain's New York Business examines recent statements by New York Planning Commission Chair Carl Weisbrod about the need for federal support if New York is to hit its affordable housing targets.

March 25 - Crain's New York Business

BLOG POST

The recent example of a dramatic rent increase in San Francisco may be less about loopholes in current housing laws and more about failing to consider all the implications of rushed legislation.

March 24 - Reuben Duarte

Federal funding to end veteran homelessness has had a real impact, but a nationwide shortage of affordable housing could make its success temporary.

March 24 - Shelterforce

New York City broke ground recently on the Plaza de Las Americas—a designed public space that will support market uses and pedestrian activity while replacing an existing roadway in the Washington Heights neighborhood.

March 24 - The Architect's Newspaper

The future of Dallas is very much under consideration. Case in point: an effort to redesign and plan the 277 acres of Fair Park with the potential to offer improved public access to a critical area east of Downtown.

March 24 - The Dallas Morning News

The infamous MonkeyParking app that last year ran afoul of public sentiment and the law is back with a new business model that offers residents the chance to auction that most precious of commodities—urban parking space.

March 24 - San Francisco Magazine

To provide room for long-term expansion, companies like Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn are buying up even more Bay Area real estate. Their flush cash reserves have them nudging out the traditional development and investment crowd.

March 24 - The Wall Street Journal

New Hampshire gas taxes increased four cents last July after a lengthy gas tax debate, but those funds were targeted toward specific repair projects, as opposed to the DOT's annual budget, which will be cut by $88 million unless funds are found.

March 24 - Concord Monitor

John King shares his thoughts on modern renderings. In too many drawings a hipster cult of youth is normalized, and it threatens to paint regular folks and true nonconformists out of the picture.

March 24 - San Francisco Chronicle

BLOG POST

The first in a new series by Planetizen: "Ask the Ethicist," featuring the advice of our resident expert: Carol D. Barrett, FAICP, author of "Everyday Ethics for Practicing Planners."

March 24 - Carol Barrett

Greater Greater Washington reports on the developing plans of county and state officials to bring multi-modal capabilities to Tysons, Virginia as part of an ongoing suburban retrofit.

March 24 - Greater Greater Washington

Kudos are in order for the Central American nation of Costa Rica. We suspect running your country without burning fossil fuels is its own reward, however.

March 23 - Science Alert

Exploring an effort to revitalize the downtown of the city of Fresno—an agricultural town in the Central Valley of California.

March 23 - The Atlantic

A planned streetcar line in Seattle will have its own dedicated lane, but perhaps even more interesting is that the existing South Lake Union Streetcar could also get a lane dedicated to transit. Is Seattle's leadership a way forward for streetcars?

March 23 - the transport politic

As a particularly sad example of the morass of confusion and litigation that defines the development and planning process in California cities, renters have been ordered to vacate a newly constructed residential building in Hollywood.

March 23 - Los Angeles Times