The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Last week, Oxford Properties Group released plans by Foster + Partners for redeveloping Toronto's Convention Centre and the surrounding area. With 7.35 million square feet proposed, the project is one of North America's largest redevelopment efforts.

October 18 - Urban Toronto

Jeff Jamawat looks at the promise of a nuanced approach to tax reform being tested in 17 local jurisdictions in Pennsylvania to head off the spiral of rising prices and displacement instigated by the construction of transit infrastructure.

October 18 - Smart Growth Network: National Conversation Blog

A movement to shed light on the worldwide loss of dark skies aims to minimize light pollution in order to increase public opportunities for stargazing, while also serving as a money-saving measure for cities, reports Kate Galbraith.

October 18 - The New York Times

Small towns like Carmel, Indiana have gained national prominence after redeveloping into "cities where people can live, work and play," writes Haya El Nassar.

October 18 - USA Today

A lawsuit filed this week against Morgan Stanley claims that the predatory lending practices that grew the housing bubble violated federal civil rights laws, an ironic echo of a time when housing policies prevented blacks from obtaining mortgages.

October 18 - The Atlantic Cities

Is the idea of "farming up" really taking off? Vertical farming could yield long-term environmental benefits, but still faces many obstacles.

October 18 - The Wall Street Journal

Rachel James speaks with historian Jennifer Gray about the impact that Disney's "particular brand of nostalgic, comforting architecture and urbanism" has had on the way people experience the city and professionals plan for it.

October 17 - SmartPlanet

There's been a change at the top of <em>Forbes</em>' annual list of America's most expensive zip codes, writes Morgan Brennan. For the first time ever, a neighborhood in New York City tops the list.

October 17 - Forbes

As cities strive to improve the "design" and "beauty" of their buildings, how can such attributes be mandated by planning documents if their mere mention is verboten, asks Karrie Jacobs.

October 17 - Metropolis

BLOG POST

<p> These are heady times for public space advocates. At long last the promotion of streets, sidewalks, parks and playgrounds has become part of the eminent design and development dialogue, and with it hopefully the recognition of the needs and rights of the user. </p> <p> This certainly is the situation in California where the approval of parklets, and other smaller scaled, vest pocket, public projects are being hotly pursued, and in other cities where the noble if not naive Occupy movement raised the profile and purpose of public space. </p>

October 17 - Sam Hall Kaplan

"Another debate, another lack of urban topics," bemoans Matt Bevilacqua, reporting on last night's presidential town hall debate. Once again, issues of relevance to planners (climate change, transportation, housing, etc.) got nary a mention.

October 17 - Next American City

Sustainable real estate developer, A-P Hurd asks some fundamental questions about the on-street parking in her Seattle neighborhood and concludes that residents should be able to do more than park cars with the spots in front of their homes.

October 17 - The Atlantic Cities

Young architectural firm, TYIN Tegnestue, proves that good design can be affordable, and that architecture can be used to help solve some of the world's existing social ills, rather than exacerbating them, writes Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan.

October 17 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Associate professor of design Karen Monzel Hughes, in moving from Cincinnati's much-acclaimed Mariemont to the once-struggling Over-the-Rhine, discovers that rebuilding and preserving are both critical facets of preservation.

October 17 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) has put forth an ambitious congestion-pricing plan for new highway lanes planned on six major roadways across the Chicago metro area in the hopes of building political and public support.

October 17 - Chicago Tribune

Without the wealth for recycling, Indian cities like Bangalore rely on informal traders to collect and sell recyclable materials. Could this tech hub provide a model of trash disposal for cities in the developing and developed world alike?

October 17 - The Atlantic Cities

Unable to secure enough local sponsorship to move forward with implementation, bike-sharing company B-Cycle has abandoned plans to build Baltimore's first bike-sharing program, reports Ron Cassie.

October 17 - Baltimore Magazine

In today's news of the ironic, and weird, an L.A. car dealer is developing a mixed-use "town center" adjacent to a future light rail station that will be anchored by their auto showrooms. The twist - they want to get people out of their cars.

October 16 - SantaMonicaPatch

"You think 50 cents in one week is bad - wait till the state adopts the Low Carbon Fuel Standard", warns one critic, predicting increases three times as much. The regulation was devised by the CA Air Resources Board to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

October 16 - San Francisco Chronicle

Historian Daniel London argues that by "excavating a 'usable past'" urbanists can find relevant, cutting edge ideas for solving the seemingly unprecedented challenges of global urbanization.

October 16 - The Global Urbanist