The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Isn't it great when our gridlocked government can finally come together to unanimously support vital legislation? That was the case in the Alabama state legislature last month when Senate Bill 477 passed both chambers unanimously.

June 6 - Press-Register

Michael Kimmelman pays homage to an angular glass canopy, designed by architect Preston Scott Cohen, that has turned a pedestrian street in Lower Manhattan into a "social cathedral."

June 6 - The New York Times

Diana Lind argues that transportation regulations needlessly stifle competition that could "benefit our intertwined problems of high prices, congestion and slow service."

June 6 - Next American City

With D.C. abandoning its leadership position in funding road infrastructure improvements, states such as Oregon and Minnesota are going forward with pilot plans to transition to road usage fees.

June 6 - USA Today

Marissa Gluck attributes downtown L.A.'s resurgence to some unlikely community development partners - our four-legged friends.

June 6 - The Atlantic Cities

Richard Perez-Pena reports on the new frontier in the rush to monetize publicly owned resources - the college parking lot.

June 5 - The New York Times

With Governor Brown and federal leaders pressuring state legislators to approve construction of the key first step in the $68-billion bullet train plan, a new survey from USC and the L.A. Times shows that California voters are backing away.

June 5 - Los Angeles Times

In the first part of a series examining the failure of Portland-area fair housing, Brad Schmidt explains how a region that prides itself on its progressive values and openness to diversity is "harboring a form of institutionalized racial inequity."

June 5 - The Oregonian

Writing in <em>Urban Land</em>, Ron Nyren identifies ten community/recreation centers completed in the last five years that go far beyond merely providing exercise opportunities, to better serve their communities.

June 5 - Urban Land

Facing a staggering backlog of necessary street improvements after years of neglect, San Diego's potholes have emerged as a defining topic in this year's mayoral campaign, reports Tony Perry.

June 5 - Los Angeles Times

Key to the upswing in the Brooklyn rental market was the failure of the last wave of building condominiums - providing a ready supply that only needed to be converted to rentals. The sale of a Williamsburg building set a record outside of Manhattan.

June 5 - The New York Times - Business Day

Michael J. Coren has a preview of an MIT report that lays out the economic and environmental benefits of stiffer pavement.

June 5 - Fast Co.Exist

Hazel Borys argues that "the payback of livable places really can’t be calculated in dollars, or pounds of fat or carbon, or even hours. The payback of place is passion."

June 5 - PlaceShakers

With nearly $5 million dedicated to regional planning initiatives, Angie Schmitt questions whether public officials in greater Cleveland are willing to make the hard decisions and compromises necessary to make the area competitive once again.

June 5 - Streetsblog D.C.

Vancouver will attempt to address urban clutter with innovative multifunctional utility poles that house Wi-Fi and telecom services, as well as other amenities, designed by none other than famed novelist Douglas Coupland.

June 5 - National Post

A 20-year, $2.6 billion Clean Rivers Project intended to eliminate sewage discharge into D.C. area waterways will benefit the entire region. So, Carol O’Cleireacain asks, why only stick Washington's residents with the bill?

June 4 - The Washington Post

Karen E. Klein profiles Propel Fuels, and their ambitious plan to lead the nation in providing alternative fuels to would-be consumers at their "gas station of the future," the first of which opened last month.

June 4 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

A new report explains why the double whopper of declining property tax revenue and state aid to local governments is causing the worst municipal fiscal crisis in a generation, and may not get better any time soon, explains Nate Berg.

June 4 - The Atlantic Cities

Matt Shaw updates the status of New York's efforts to catch up with the global rise in super-tall residential skyscrapers.

June 4 - The Architect's Newspaper

Excavating in East St. Louis in advance of an approaching freeway and future development, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a sophisticated American Indian settlement nearly a thousand years old that "no one knew existed."

June 4 - NPR