The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

As LA Slowly Expands Transit, Looking at Programs to Get Commuters Out of Their Cars Today

Alissa Walker sheds light on the programs and institutions pushing Angelenos to change their commuting behaviors in an effort to recoup some of the 485 million wasted hours that cost the region more than $10 billion annually due to congestion.

April 21 - Good

Friday Funny: What the Heck is Going Down in Sheboygan?

John Metcalfe spotlights the "shocking, head-scratching and just plain zen tweets from @sheboyganscan, an anonymous Good Samaritan who monitors the police scanner in Sheboygan."

April 20 - The Atlantic Cities

A Business-Friendly Approach to Urban Sustainability

Moira Quinn takes a look at Charlotte, North Carolina, where businesses and local government have teamed up to keep office buildings green as the central business district grows.

April 20 - Urban Land

What Are the Biggest Challenges Facing America's Mayors?

Earlier this week, Charlie Rose hosted a roundtable discussion with the mayors of Chicago, Baltimore, Jacksonville, and Louisville on how they're working to revitalize their cities in challenging economic times.

April 20 - Charlie Rose

The Dream Team Behind America's Transportation Revolution

In the first of a five-part series, Angie Schmitt pays tribute to three "visionary bureaucrats" who are changing the face of transportation in the United States.

April 20 - Streetsblog


In Which Cities are People Eating the Healthiest?

Ariel Schwartz identifies where people have the best and worst eating habits based on self-supplied data gathered by a food-picture-taking and healthiness-rating application.

April 20 - Fast Coexist

Sacramento's Slam Dunk Stadium Deal Rejected

Steven Greenhut opines on the lucky break he believes residents of Sacramento received earlier this week when owners of the city's NBA franchise backed out of a partnership to build a new basketball arena in the city's downtown.

April 20 - Bloomberg View


Vallejo Approves First City-Wide Participatory Budgeting Process in US

The City Council of Vallejo, California, approved the first city-wide Participatory Budgeting process in the US this week. Residents will directly decide how to spend around $3 million from new sales tax revenue.

April 20 - Times Herald

A Facelift for the Nation's Front Lawn

Kaid Benfield laments the capital's "blah"-inspiring National Mall, and discusses three design competitions underway that could give it a second life.

April 20 - Switchboard

LA Mayor Stakes His Legacy on Transit Plan

Stymied by multiple attempts to leverage one of his key political victories as mayor - the passage of a half-cent tax increase to fund transit in LA - Villaraigosa announced another bid to speed up the expansion of the region's mass transit system.

April 20 - Los Angeles Times

Refuting the Recent Food Access and Obesity Findings

Allison Karpyn, Ph.D., director of research and evaluation for the Food Trust, shares her doubts about the overall implications of recent studies questioning the concept of Food Deserts and their connection to obesity.

April 20 - Next American City

Are DC's Strict Height Limits and Arbitrary Planning Rules Hurting the City?

Two commentaries pick up on the recent push to loosen Washington D.C.'s notoriously conservative height limits, and argue that such controversial changes are overdue and, in fact, don't go far enough.

April 19 - The Atlantic

Planning for New York's "Sixth Borough"

A year after its release, Tom Stoelker tracks the progress of New York's comprehensive plan for its waterfront, Vision 2020, the recent recipient of the APA's Daniel Burnham Award.

April 19 - The Architect's Newspaper

Ranking America's Hipster Havens

Katrina Brown Hunt ranks America's top ten cities for hipsters with the help of <em>Travel + Leisure</em> readers, who voted in the magazine's annual America’s Favorite Cities survey.

April 19 - Yahoo! Travel

The Tech Start-Up Revolutionizing Parking

Ariel Schwartz profiles Streetline and their suite of applications that are collectively transforming the way we manage, locate, and reserve parking.

April 19 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Concluding the APA Convention: 'The Cost Comes Before the Benefit'

Renée Jones-Bos, Ambassador of the Netherlands to the United States, spoke about water, infrastructure, planning, ports, and cost-benefit analysis as the closing keynote speaker at the 2012 APA National Convention in Los Angeles.

April 19 - The Planning Report

Serving Drivers with Instant Bridge Replacement

John Schwartz reports on a bridge replacement technique that demonstrates innovation in construction, as well as customer service.

April 19 - The New York Times

Celebrating America's Top Main Streets

Writing in <em>Travel + Leisure</em>, Wayne Curtis surveys 15 of America's greatest Main Streets.

April 19 - Travel + Leisure

Examining Our Now-Fading Mania For Malls

On the sixty-year anniversary of the genesis of the country's first enclosed mall, Mark Hinshaw looks at America's foolish detour into shopping malls.

April 19 - Crosscut

CA Legislative Analyst Recommends Minimal Funding For HSR Project

Gov. Jerry Brown was no doubt disappointed to read the report from the non-partisan Legislative Analyst Office that recommends minimal funding at best for the $68 billion project due to "highly speculative funding" from private and federal sources.

April 19 - San Jose Mercury News

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