The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Where Americans Can Retire 'Like Kings'

Lisa Stark identifies the top ten U.S. cities were retirees can live on less than $100 per day.

July 20 - ABC News

CA High Speed Rail Bill is Now Law

In signing ceremonies in both Los Angeles's Union Station and San Francisco's Transbay Terminal (under construction), Gov. Jerry Brown appropriated $4.7 billion in Prop. 1A, 2008 bond funds that will be matched with $3.2 billion in federal HSR funds.

July 20 - CNN U.S.

Is Creative Class Urbanism This Generation's Urban Renewal?

The 10th anniversary and updating of Richard Florida's "Rise of the Creative Class" has brought about a re-evaluation of "creative class" urbanism. Will Doig surveys a series of popular essays that question Florida's highly influential arguments.

July 20 - Salon

Is Suburban Sprawl Worsening America's Historic Drought?

As the U.S. experiences its worst drought in over half a century, Kaid Benfield questions the connection with the country's suburban growth patterns over that same period.

July 20 - Switchboard

An End to the Days of "Drill First, Ask Questions Later"?

An Indian court pulls the plug -- sort of -- on unregulated groundwater exploitation.

July 20 - The Times Of India


Gotham's Mirror Reflects American Views of the City

On the eve of the premiere of the most highly anticipated blockbuster of the summer - "The Dark Night Rises" - Adam Rogers probes the "deeply dysfunctional love story" between Batman and Gotham.

July 19 - The Atlantic Cities

Chicago Crowdsources a Superior Transit App

Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan discusses the launch of Designing Chicago, an "unusual" Kickstarter campaign intended to utilize the brains and wallets of the city's residents to create an app covering the city’s various systems of public transportation.

July 19 - Fast Company Co.Design


SF Subway Work Begins, Despite Uncertain Funding and Local Opposition

With construction beginning, Michael Cabanatuan reports on the unresolved problems dogging San Francisco's $1.6 billion Central Subway project.

July 19 - San Francisco Chronicle

California Cities Go Ballistic Over Latest Redevelopment Law

In its attempt to clean up the mess left by the dismantling of the state's redevelopment agencies, the California legislature is holding cities hostage with a 'draconian' penalty for failing to relinquish funds to the state.

July 19 - California Planning & Development Report

Will Toronto Choose to Trash its Pioneering Waterfront Master Plan?

An award-winning master plan for Toronto's Lower Don Lands, completed only five years ago by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, may be gutted if the Ford administration has its way, reports Alex Ulam.

July 19 - The Architect's Newspaper

Tech Start-Ups Move to the Beach

Jefferson Graham describes how an influx of tech start-ups are turning Los Angeles into "Silicon Beach" - the newest hot spot for entrepreneurs with an entertainment, celebrity or mobile edge.

July 19 - USA Today

U.S. City Growth May Not Be Overtaking Suburban Growth

Urbanists got excited when new population data from the U.S. Census Bureau suggested bigger growth in cities compared to their suburbs. Eric Jaffe interviews Columbia professor David King on why this isn't necessarily true.

July 19 - The Atlantic Cities

Copenhagen Shames Aspiring Bike Cities, Again, With Opening of Superhighway

From Portland to Minneapolis, cities across the America have been trying to catch up to Copenhagen's world-renowned bicycling infrastructure. With the recent opening of a bike superhighway, the Danish capital is leaving other cities in the dust.

July 19 - The New York Times

Bizarre Taxpayer Headache: Street Pole Dancing in Aukland, NZ

Over the past year and a half more than 40 street poles have suffered damages, Paul Chapman reports, as Aukland prostitutes employ the poles for exotic dances.

July 19 - The Telegraph

San Francisco's 160-unit Micro-Apartment Building Seeks Approval

Even smaller than Mayor Bloomberg's 'micro-apartment' proposal for Manhattan, Berkeley developer Patrick Kennedy has his 'SmartSpace' model, based on his experience living in an Airstream trailer, headed to the Board of Supervisors on July 24.

July 19 - San Francisco Chronicle

Seattle Unveils Grand Plans for Its Waterfront, But Who's Going to Pay for it?

Last week, landscape architect James Corner presented a transformative vision for remaking Seattle's waterfront after the removal of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Lynn Thompson describes Corner's plan, and its accompanying funding challenges.

July 18 - The Seattle Times

Will a New Lawsuit Force 'Slumlord' US Bank to Cleanup Its Act?

Jessica Garrison and Angel Jennings report on a new lawsuit filed this week by the City of Los Angeles that is part of "an aggressive attempt to deal with the urban decay caused by the housing crash."

July 18 - Los Angeles Times

Once Centers of Civic Pride, Transit Hubs Become Destinations Again

When the railroad was the primary means of interstate travel, America's cities relied on their train stations to provide grand first impressions to travelers. As transit ridership soars, a bevy of new stations are being designed as civic centerpieces

July 18 - Salon

Malls Fight Back

Battling against rumors of impending retirement, or even death, at least one owner isn't going down without a fight to make its malls Internet-proof. Stephanie Clifford examines how Glimcher Realty Trust's novel approach is paying dividends.

July 18 - The New York Times

California Bankruptcies May Increase Without Structural Changes

Chris McKenzie, Executive Director of the California League of Cities, discusses the specter of bankruptcy and the structural difficulties cities face in addressing their fiscal deficits. The San Bernardino bankruptcy does not mean the worst is over.

July 18 - The Planning Report

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