The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Topping a new list of America's coolest cities is Portland? New York? Austin? Nope, it's Houston.

July 30 - Forbes

The gateway to the London Olympic complex isn't marked by an iconic work of art or public plaza, but rather by a store - Fat Face - which is part of a gigantic new mall. Some aren't too happy with the blatant mix of commerce and competition.

July 30 - The New York Times

Sandy Apgar and Tony Canzoneri aim to clear up myths and misconceptions about PPPs (P3s), "the vehicle of choice to plan and execute many development projects that neither private nor public sector participants could perform on their own."

July 30 - Urban Land

Steve Mouzon finds fault with the uniform application of the 1/4 mile walkability radius, regardless of context. And, in the first in a series of articles, he introduces a new tool for understanding and building walkable places.

July 30 - Original Green

Finding new uses for vacant gas stations is a major challenge throughout the U.S. The days of the small, independent service station are fading, yet they often occupy prime, gateway sites. Whether razed or transformed, challenges are formidable.

July 30 - The New York Times - Commercial

In the latest entry in its fascinating series on the "Laws That Shaped L.A.", <em>KCET</em>'s Jeremy Rosenberg looks at the city's brief, but golden, age of the Jitneys, and whether they deserve a return to L.A.'s growing mix of transit modes.

July 29 - KCET Departures

For a city of its size, London and its skyline are notoriously flat. Now, as the city struggles to expand its housing stock to meet the needs of it surging population, increasingly taller solutions are being prescribed, concerning some.

July 29 - The Global Urbanist

After decades of planning and development of its urban rail networks, will the American West change its image from car cornucopia to transit paradise?

July 29 - The Architect's Newspaper

California's Governor Jerry Brown unveils his administration's new plan in hopes of finally balancing the state's competing water interests. The cost? $14 billion over a decade.

July 29 - The New York Times

Animated GIFs provided by <em>The Atlantic Cities</em> show the dramatic growth of several global cities over the past four decades, as captured in photographs taken by NASA's Landsat satellite system.

July 29 - The Atlantic Cities

The historic rainstorm that struck the Chinese capital last Saturday washed away the gloss of decades of rapid growth, revealing the failures of its infrastructure and its leaders, write Jacob Fromer and Edward Wong.

July 28 - The New York Times

Many new light rail lines have been built in western cities in the hopes of attracting new development to greenfields. Los Angeles' Expo Line, however, is threaded through a heavily built-up area, thus complicating dreams of TOD.

July 28 - California Planning & Development Report

In this pair of 'cause and effect' articles, USA Today reporters describe the many companies seeking new office and R&D sites in San Francisco, whether relocating from expensive downtown Palo Alto, the South or East Bay, or outside the state or U.S.

July 28 - USA Today

After years of scandal, New Orleans accepts that the time for change has come.

July 28 - The New York Times

Several collaborative Google Maps cover Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TNDs) across the US and Canada as well as form-based codes globally. Are yours listed?

July 28 - PlaceShakers

BLOG POST

<p> How much is a hipster worth to a city? Is she worth more when she&#39;s building an app, or when she&#39;s writing a blog? Is a hipster with a walrus mustache and a mean whiffle ball pitch worth more than one who wears a sarong and practices aerial yoga? How many of them can dance on the pull tab of a PBR? <br />

July 27 - Josh Stephens

For those who thought having to stand to use a Segway required far too much exertion, Honda has introduced the Uni-Cub, a radical new way for humans to avoid ever having to be upright again.

July 27 - Los Angeles Times

Singapore de-channelizes an urban river as part of a plan to preserve more of its rainwater, creating a park in the process.

July 27 - THE DIRT

Zak Stone spotlights a new app being tested in Germany that can predict and prevent traffic jams, and promises to reduce CO2 emissions in the process.

July 27 - Good

Calling it the "next phase of the Internet", Google announced the details of the roll out of its ultrahigh-speed Internet network this week, which will offer speeds 100 times faster than typical broadband connections to residents of Kansas City.

July 27 - The New York Times