The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Friday Funny: A New Direction for Transportation Policy?
James Sinclair points out that the cover of the Republicans' newly announced transportation reauthorization proposal, picturing an empty freeway overpass, makes the title - "A New Direction" - pretty ironic.
Land Art's Expired Lease Raises Questions
A recent bid to lease the land that houses Spiral Jetty, the iconic piece of landscape art by Robert Smithson, has raised questions about whether art on land can be owned and where the line between the two should lie.
MIT Develops New Fuel, Dubbed "Cambridge Crude"
A post at The Polis Blog asks the question, "how might Cambridge Crude change cities?"
San Francisco's Parklets Become Part of the City
Parking spaces in San Francisco are being repurposed as small patio-like park spaces and out door seating areas. John King of the <em>San Francisco Chronicle</em> looks at how they've become part of the city.
One Lane, One Way, $1 Billion
The weekend closure of the 405 freeway in L.A. highlights the city's limited mobility but also the skewed way transit and transportation projects are debated.
How Do US Cities Measure Up in Broadband Accessibility?
According to this piece from CivSource, US cities have fallen considerably behind other developed world cities when it comes to broadband accessibility. The influence of private sector "incumbents" is to blame, writes the author.
The Future of Los Angeles' Union Station
On Wednesday, LA Metro started the process of soliciting proposals for the redevelopment of the 42 acres of land it owns around Union Station.
McMansion No More
2010 Census offers telling evidence of America's shifting demographics. Diana Olick of CNBC contextualizes the new U.S. household data in terms of real estate development.
Richard Florida Explains "The Geography of How We Get to Work"
In a piece from <em>The Atlantic</em> Richard Florida discusses the factors that shape Americans' commuting patterns. Some of his assertions are counter to commonly accepted explanations for commuting behaviors.
Santa Monica's Ambitious Plan For 'No Net New Car Trips'
Beachside Santa Monica recently launched an ambitious Land Use and Circulation Element, which will balance growth, neighborhoods, and traffic. The plan has received accolades, and the city has become a model for consensus-based planning.
Have Electricity, Will Travel
Washington state fulfills its share of the West Coast Green Highway initiative by installing nine fast-charging stations for electric cars along the 580-mile Interstate 5 corridor from Oregon to Canada.
Behavioral Shift in the Way We Drive
When "peak car use" is reached, the only way to go is down, claim Australian scholars Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy. They say we're already there - between 1995 to 2000, per capita VMT in some major cities around the world decreased.
Preservation's Need for Diversity
Preservation will have to include a more diverse and multi-ethnic population in order to stay relevant, writes Kenneth Caldwell for The Architect's Newspaper.
Europe's Most Dynamic City
Berlin, Brussels or Bruges? Against the backdrop of an ongoing debt crisis, planning pundits deliberate on which European city is the true "dynamic center of Europe."
Clean Economy Shows Potential for Rapid Growth
In the Brookings Institute's pulse check on the nation's clean economy, researchers found that most of the country's clean economy jobs and recent growth were held in the largest metropolitan areas.
Shanghai to Create Suburbs as Remedy for Urban Density
Shanghai in its 12th Five-Year Plan is modeling seven new satellite cities as suburbs to alleviate the density in the city center, reports Yu Ran, China Daily.
Health Concerns For Urban Cyclists
A new Canadian study should be of interest to any urban cyclist concerned about his/her health. The study shows what is apparent to most cyclists already - smoking tailpipes, especially from diesel trucks and buses, can have serious health impacts.
Jobs Up in Rural Areas
With unemployment numbers falling, jobs are on the rise in some rural parts of the country.
The Corporate Forces Behind the Transcontinental Railroads
A new book looks into the history of the transcontinental railroads and how the corrupt connection between politics and business helped spread the American economy to the West.
Experts Weigh Mica's Transportation Bill
Since the release of House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica's proposed $230 billion surface-transportation bill, reviews have been mostly negative. <em>National Journal</em> asks its panel of experts for their take.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
Tyler Technologies
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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