The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The high-profile case of Raquel Nelson, who was arrested when her four-year-old son was killed as she attempted to cross the street with him, and another recent episode demonstrate the Atlanta region's abysmal attitude toward pedestrians.

October 3 - Streetsblog D.C.

Frugality is probably not the first word one would associate with a city known for sin and excess. But in the wake of the global financial crash, Matthew Garrahan examines how Las Vegas is pursuing a conservative path to recovery.

October 3 - The Financial Times

As the level of golf participation falls, a new course is rising in a park in the Bronx with the assistance of $97 million in public funds. Is a notoriously expensive, and elitist, sport the best use of land in a borough with a 30% poverty rate?

October 3 - The New York Times

While we're sure the ever-popular "Best City" lists serve some nebulous purpose, a new metric seeks to identify and evaluate America's metro areas by a more comprehensive understanding of how well they're achieving "complete communities."

October 2 - The Atlantic Cities

Alex Steffen, a "leading voice in planetary futurism," muses on what he believes could be a way to move beyond NIMBYism and incremental urban planning, to provide an antidote to fundamentally broken city governance.

October 2 - Planetary Thinking

As Denver B-Cycle, the country's first large-scale municipal bike-sharing program, seeks to expand with 27 new stations, one city councilman is objecting to the plans with concerns that the system is skirting poor and minority neighborhoods.

October 2 - The Denver Post

Designed by architect Léon Krier, and spearheaded by Prince Charles, the 'model village' on 400 acres outside of Dorchester, England was begun 25 years ago. As Graham Norwood reports, its success is still a matter for debate.

October 2 - The Financial Times

Zoning reform is a political campaign. Coder Susan Henderson talks about audience dynamics, with a special focus on how to communicate with property owners and the developer community.

October 2 - PlaceShakers

Smoking is physically harmful to smokers and non-smokers alike, but what about its impact on public space? Nate Berg reports on a new paper in Urban Studies based on interviews in Singapore -- where smoking has been regulated since 1970.

October 2 - The Atlantic Cities

An experimental plan to build a new charter city for 10 million people in Honduras has lost a key element, its expected chairman and chief founder, Paul Romer.

October 2 - The New York Times

Some cities are fighting back against the mortgage crisis, using eminent domain to seize and write down troubled mortgages, keeping homeowners in their homes and keeping local economies afloat, writes Peter S. Goodman.

October 2 - Huffington Post

Wendell Cox delves into the latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau that have prompted some to herald a return to America's downtowns, and argues that reports of such population growth are vastly overblown.

October 2 - New Geography

Despite heated political rhetoric on the national stage, the Toledo mayor courts Chinese investors.

October 2 - The Financial Times

FEATURE

October 1 - Ariel Godwin

As the level of sophistication in cycling infrastructure increases, the value of networks becomes even more apparent.

October 1 - PlaceShakers

Amid widespread economic crisis, and raising environmental awareness, Europeans are embracing ride-sharing services in staggering numbers, reports Eric Pfanner.

October 1 - The New York Times

Although the state's legislators were ready to move on from the closure of CA's redevelopment agencies by approving several bills designed to replace aspects of redevelopment or otherwise help cities, Governor Brown vetoed each one over the weekend.

October 1 - California Planning & Development Report

David Bergman argues why plans recently approved by New York's Community Board 3 and City Planning Commission for the development of the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA) are a step backwards for the area.

October 1 - The Architect's Newspaper

According to Kate Dries, it's not the design that sets apart the plans for Bloomingdale Trail, Chicago's elevated railway to park conversion. The way the project has evolved sets it apart from its east coast cousin and prior efforts.

October 1 - WBEZ

News out last week that big-box retailer Staples plans to reduce its square footage by 15 percent heralds a larger trend of smaller screens necessitating smaller boxes. Lydia DePillis examines why this will be a boon to cities.

October 1 - The New Republic