The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The Dutch Water Line is a floodable defense system built in the 16th Century in the Netherlands. Hundreds of bunkers were built during World War II, but now sit unused. A design firm has constructed a walkway right through the middle of one.

February 3 - Icon

BLOG POST

<p> In this lavishly produced, beautifully illustrated but somewhat self-edifying book, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales argues that most of our global crises -- from climate change to poverty to our soulless built environments -- are owed to our disconnection from Nature (which he capitalizes).

February 3 - Michael Dudley

Three years ago, Boulder grabbed international attention when it announced plans to construct a "smart grid" of high tech tools to help cut its electricity consumption. But that project has gone way over budget.

February 3 - Time

While Brazil sits underwater due to heavy rains, an even greater political problem persists.

February 3 - The Guardian

Many Cubans encounter difficulties in traveling throughout Havana as well as the entire country.

February 3 - The Huffington Post

The small town of Perugia, Italy has left its traffic worries behind by implementing various driving restrictions and transportation solutions like escalators and a "minimetro".

February 3 - National Geographic

The demand for air travel may seem to be on the decline, but it's actually rising -- and playing a major role in determining which places are more economically successful.

February 3 - The New York Times

The cities of the future should be "smart" -- equipped with data-collection tools and technologies to improve city functionality -- but being smart also means being a good listener, writes Saskia Sassen.

February 3 - What Matters

Beneath Paris is an underground network of tunnels and quarries, long closed to the public. <em>National Geographic</em> takes a tour of this forbidden part of the city, where urban explorers keep tradition alive.

February 3 - National Geographic

The retail giant abandons its plans to build a "super-center" atop a Civil War battlefield in Virginia after facing strong resistance from a coalition of preservation organizations.

February 3 - The Washington Post

A recent international design competition sought innovative and attractive solutions for allowing wildlife to cross busy highways. The winning designs take various strategies to go over or under the traffic.

February 2 - The Globe and Mail

In Barcelona, Mario Ballesteros says that now is the time to change the perception of historic preservation from a staid, conservative activity to an active, contemporary approach.

February 2 - domus

While some cities have focused planning efforts on making their public spaces more accessible for the elderly, some argue that the age group they should be focusing on is kids.

February 2 - Good

Of all the environmental problems facing California, depletion of its groundwater may be the most important according to this piece.

February 2 - NRDC Switchboard

<em>Los Angeles Times</em> architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne begins a year-long series reading and reviewing 25 books all about L.A.

February 2 - Los Angeles Times

Struggling Rust Belt cities could be the smart move for retirees, according to this article.

February 2 - Reuters

This slideshow from <em>The New York Times</em> looks at a variety of examples of large-scale planning efforts that never materialized.

February 2 - The New York Times

With recent uprisings in Cairo and Tunis, we are reminded that the city has been the center of revolutionary action for hundreds of years, according to this piece from Edward L. Glaeser.

February 2 - The New York Times

A new proposal in Washington could help fund urban infrastructure by transferring development rights from rural areas to cities.

February 2 - Crosscut

Economic crises tend to manifest themselves in specific design trends, especially in the field of architecture. This latest recession has spurred the age of Do-It-Yourself architecture and urbanism.

February 1 - Places