The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The DeKalb Market on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn showcases adaptive reuse of old shipping containers at its best with an eclectic mix of small shops, picnic area, food vendors, urban garden, and DJ booth.

July 27 - Inhabitat NYC

The revitalization master plan for two older neighborhoods in Abu Dhabi includes creating "new roads, clinics, schools, police stations and neighborhood centers" and making them easily accessible to residents.

July 26 - The National

Banks in China have stopped accepting loan applications for property in the country's second- and third-tier cities in an effort to curb inflation.

July 26 - China Daily

The city of Vancouver is planning to offer more than $42 million in land and capital grants aimed at developing affordable housing. Its part of a 10-year plan to end homelessness in the city.

July 26 - The Vancouver Sun

The immense drill that's burrowing a subway tunnel beneath New York City will remain underground after its work is through, a move to cut the expensive costs of removing it.

July 26 - The New York Times

Small-scale, temporary interventions in urban space have brought the concept of "pop-up" projects into the civic space of cities.

July 26 - The Globe and Mail

A comic book is helping municipal employees in Brazil to understand how to catalog land for the collection of property taxes.

July 26 - At Lincoln House

One year after it hosted the World Cup, South Africa is looking at empty and expensive stadia and a persistent debt that's causing some to regret hosting the soccer tournament.

July 26 - The New York Times Magazine

For a city of over 16,000 people per square mile, less than 7% of Hong Kong's land is designated for residential use. Subdivided apartments - aka "coffin units" - totaling 150 square feet aren't uncommon, reports The Wall Street Journal.

July 26 - The Wall Street Journal

While most homebuilders take measures to control cost, such as modifying the plan layouts or building more energy-efficient homes, few revamp their business strategies by creating specialized division for distressed markets.

July 26 - The Economist

Two bullet trains collided in China killing 43, injuring 211, on Saturday evening, July 23 in Wenzhou city, after one train stalled on a viaduct, causing four cars of the moving train to fall up to 100 ft. to the ground below. Video attached.

July 26 - The Times Of India

2 architects from the firm HPlusF took on the challenge of taking a Hummer and redesigning it into a modular dwelling. Thus, the HummerHaus.

July 25 - dornob

Will the California high-speed rail project move forward, or will politicians pull the plug? The fate of the program weighs in the balance as construction is about to begin.

July 25 - The San Francisco Chronicle

In a hurry to catch the train?

July 25 - The Pop-Up City

Looking at "urban acupuncture", a recent movement that eschews massive urban renewal projects in favor of smaller interventions.

July 25 - The Guardian U.K.

FEATURE

Wave of the future, or glorified golf cart? Lisa Nisenson says that dismissing neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) is a mistake, and planners can use NEV planning to make more walkable urban centers.

July 25 - Lisa Nisenson

Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, AICP, explains why being able to tell a good story about plans and development is more valuable than any maps or pretty renderings.

July 25 - Planning Commissioners Journal

BLOG POST

Automobile travel imposes significant health risks. Traffic fatality rates, obesity and related illnesses such as diabetes, and total air pollution emissions tend to increase with per capita annual vehicle mileage.

July 25 - Todd Litman

An exhibit in Paris presents elaborate, lush visions of "La Ville Fertile", or "The Fertile City."

July 25 - Design Observer

Not that it's a real surprise that trees clean the air, but a new study shows that greenery in cities can have a significant effect on air quality.

July 25 - TheCityFix.com