The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The mayor of the small town of Lancaster, California, has proposed broadcasting recordings of bird noises along one of the city's main streets to "make people happier".

January 31 - CBS

The Domino Effect is a new documentary film that explores the process of real estate development in New York City to uncover the complex networks of banks, developers, politicians, and non-profit organizations that shape our cities.

January 30 - L Magazine

A recent report shows that fast growing cities had lower incomes and bigger income drops during the recession. Mary Newsom digests the report and delves into what it means for cities looking forward.

January 30 - Citiwire

Seattle has the political momentum behind sustainable urbanism, but it doesn't seem to have a physical neighborhood example of how sustainable urbanism can work, according to this article.

January 30 - Sustainable Industries

The term "smart growth" may be approaching the end of its shelf life, according to some. Its replacement: "intelligent cities".

January 30 - USA Today

Long Island's Nassau County is one of the nation's wealthiest counties, yet its inability to balance its budget (though the county executive claims it's in surplus) is a warning to other counties to get their finances in order before repealing taxes.

January 30 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

Governor Chris Christie announced the state would not repay the $271 million the Federal Transit Administration claims it is owed for the canceled trans-Hudson rail tunnel, reports Jim O'Grady.

January 29 - WNYC

Eric Jaffe pushes back on the Republican Study Committee's proposal to cut over $6 billion in rail funding over the next ten years.

January 29 - The Infrastructurist

James Griffioen debunks the myth that his hometown is in want of grocery stores.

January 29 - Urbanophile

Joel Kotkin argues that planners too often ignore "the most critical issue" in housing.

January 29 - Forbes

Do you know the difference between taxis and livery cars? This op-ed by a taxi driver/author explains the difference. It is timely because Mayor Bloomberg will propose a rule that will make the two more similar, and (yellow) cab drivers oppose it.

January 29 - The New York Times - Opinion

Portlandia is a new TV show spoofing the self-righteously urban culture of Portland. In this clip, a hyper bicycle rights activist zips around the city decrying the evils of automobiles.

January 28 - My Damn Channel

At the subway stop at Wilshire Blvd. and Vermont, developer Jerry Snyder halted construction on his planned vertical retail mall, saying that the apartment market is comparatively "very strong."

January 28 - The Los Angeles Times

Suburban Waukesha seeks to be the first city to pipe water from the Great Lakes since the 2008 Great Lakes Pact. But will approval just mean more sprawl in a sprawling region?

January 28 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Beatville is a new "open source, multi-player environment for real cities", which purports to be a useful tool for democratizing urban planning.

January 28 - Urban Omnibus

Barun Roy says that some of the most adventurous, bizarre and impractical architecture is being built in Asia.

January 28 - Business Standard

In the heart of Koreatown in Los Angeles, an experimental community took over 2 apartment complexes in the '90s. Today, it's a thriving group of folks trying to live greenly in the big city.

January 28 - GOOD Magazine

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has introduced a new bill proposing to completely defund the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

January 28 - HousingWire

The Regional Plan Association has released a $15 billion proposal to expand capacity at congested Kennedy and Newark Liberty International Airports by 50 million passengers per year.

January 28 - The New York Times

Wendell Cox looks at which U.S. cities saw the greatest gains (and losses) to per capita income from 2000 to 2010.

January 28 - New Geography