The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A new tool, released in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey and Esri, provides easy access to historical maps from all over the country, featuring a timeline to easily select maps from different eras.

July 11 - ESRI

Whether it was a show about nothing, or, as Eric Jaffe claims, a show about anything, Seinfeld was all about New York City. And it debuted 25 years ago, on July 5, 1989.

July 11 - CityLab

A prominent conservative blogger cites James Howard Kunstler, Edmund Burke, and Joan Didion in making the case for New Urbanist ideals of place, despite the stigma in conservative circles.

July 10 - The Week

Nathan Jensen, a political science professor at Washington University in St. Louis, has found evidence that one of the most popular strategies for state and local leaders to attract new business does not pay off.

July 10 - The Washington Post

Ilana Preuss writes for Smart Growth America about the opportunity to integrate small-scale industrial uses into development—what's called mixed-use industrial real estate.

July 10 - Smart Growth America

As new transportation systems continue to emerge and gain popularity, the sacred cows of land use and transportation planning require radical new thinking, according to Gabe Klein.

July 10 - CityLab

Opposition is stirring in industry and within the California legislature over the inclusion of oil refineries* in the cap and trade program come Jan. 1. Warning of a new tax on gas, opponents hope to delay the requirement for transportation fuels.

July 10 - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Even Andrews reports on the unsafe environment that women encounter while on their bikes—and the organizations and people who are working to make the roads safer from harassment.

July 10 - Grist

A local architect produced a DIY design to push the Illinois Department of Transportation to think big with the "Redefine the Drive" project on North Lake Shore Drive. With the proposal: invitations for more local designers to participate.

July 10 - Chi.Streetsblog

Mark Fahey cites data from Crain's and the New York Building Congress showing that New York City's improving economy has percolated big numbers of hires through all levels of the building industry.

July 10 - Crain's New York Business

A $10.7 billion funding plan to continue federal transportation spending at the current rate through May 2015 has been offered by Republicans in the House Ways and Means Committee. The General Funds transfer would be offset by "pension smoothing."

July 10 - Bloomberg News

BLOG POST

While concern over foreign investment in the local real estate market is perfectly valid, the concern is irrelevant to the reasons and need to increase density and the supply of housing.

July 10 - Reuben Duarte

A long read by Eric Jaffe serves as a primer on the "Level of Service" (LOS) requirement in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as well as predicting the large impact of LOS reform on planning in the state and around the country.

July 9 - CityLab

While much of the concern of how to regulate transportation network companies like Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar comes down to questions about safety and access, recent findings show that the apps have reduced DUI arrests in the City of Brotherly Love.

July 9 - PlanPhilly

The proposed expansion of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art recently got a major revision—now instead of cantilevering over the La Brea Tar Pits, the building would bridge Wilshire Boulevard.

July 9 - Los Angeles Times

Habin Kwak reports that Brad Pitt’s home-building operation, Make It Right, is expanding its operations outside of New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward and a subsequent expansion in Kansas City.

July 9 - The Architect's Newspaper

In what's described as a transformational trend, a new article claims that more and more Chinese-made buildings, infrastructure, and urban districts are under construction in Africa.

July 9 - Metropolis

Jillian Glover writes of her new perspective on what makes a city welcoming and safe for young families—the newest perspective, in fact. She's a new mother.

July 9 - Sustainable Cities Collective

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program has significant potential to drive more resources into America’s distressed urban cores, according to a recent report authored by Initiative for a Competitive Inner City.

July 9 - Governing

Streetsblog recently launched a series that will highlight Pittsburgh as a city "shedding its 'Rust Belt' image and emerging as a leader in progressive street design." The first case study: the city's three shared streets projects.

July 9 - Streetsblog USA