The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
High Speed Rail Debate Comes Down To Voters
Consumer Affairs looks at high speed rail's future in the U.S. by first looking at rail's domineering past, noting the huge change after the Interstate Highway Act along with the land use changes the auto brought, but concludes it all comes down to..
Your Next Car Might Run on Air
CNN profiles the "Air Pod", a tiny three-wheeled vehicle that runs on compressed air [Video]
Where are the Black Urbanists?
Urbanism tends to be an interest of a small group: the young, the male, and the pale, according to Kristen E. Jeffers who wants to see more groups and more people of color engaged.
India Plans 24 'Green' Cities
India, in partnership with Japan, is planning to build 24 "green" cities along a corridor between the major urban areas of Delhi and Mumbai.
Moving Towards a Melting Pot
According to data from the most recent Census, segregation along racial lines has hit an 100-year low in seventy-five percent of U.S. metropolitan areas. Southern and Western cities have showed the most noticeable integration trends.
BLOG POST
The Federal Interest in Non-Highway Transportation
As Congress begins to draft transportation legislation next year, fiscal scarcity may induce a fight between transit and highway advocates over federal funding, rather than the cooperation of the last few years. And if highway advocates seek to tear down federal support for other forms of transportation, they will probably rely heavily on federalism considerations, arguing that highways are inherently an interstate concern while transit and non-motorized forms of transportation are a nonfederal concern.<span> </span>For example, Alan Pisarski writes: “If sidewalks and bike paths are federal then <em>everything</em> is federal.” <p class="MsoNormal"> There are two flaws in this argument.<span> </span>First of all, highways are not always primarily an interstate concern
The Office Goes Urban
Motivated by factors such as municipal incentive packages and the changing preferences of younger workers, many companies are relocating to central business districts, reversing a post-war trend that based the American workplace in the suburbs.
Local Govts. Step to the Plate on Climate Change
With politics tangling up action on the Federal level, cities and local governments are adopting climate action plans to combat global warming. Smart growth is high on the list of action items.
Walmart vs. New Yorkers
Walmart has met enormous opposition in its attempts to open stores in New York City in the past, but that isn't stopping the big box behemoth. The City Council is hearing new arguments this week.
Livable Communities Act Faces Uncertain Future
The mid-term elections have created even more uncertainty for the Livable Communities Act, which has stalled in the House and has yet to be taken up by the full Senate. Critics worry about government spending and housing affordability.
Conflict Between History and Modernity Plays Out in Seoul District
Single-story, tiled-roof houses called hanok used to cover the footprint of Seoul, now a city of skyscrapers and avant-garde architecture. Today many describe the hanok as "endangered,"and conflict has come to a head in the small district of Bukchon.
Move Over Suburbia... For "Prefurbia"?
Twin Cities developer and software guru Rick Harrison believes that, through innovative urban design configurations such as 'coving,' suburban areas can be transformed from "disdainable to sustainable."
Tolls Incite San Francisco Peninsula Border War
The mere possibility that a SF County Transportation Authority study could result in a 'border' charge (congestion toll) to drive into SF from San Mateo County has the latter floating their own competing toll for motorists entering San Mateo County.
How Does A Gas Tax Reduce The Deficit?
The deficit commission has proposed a 15-cent gas tax, which would fund the Highway Trust Fund for needed infrastructure projects as opposed to deficit reduction. Brooking's Robert Puentes explains why it was included.
Outside Interests Spell Change for Harlem
An influx of chain stores and new development in Harlem has many residents worried about retaining the historical character of the nation's so-called "African American 'Main-Street.'" Not everybody minds the changes though.
City's Fate Rests On Airport's Revival
Officials in Ontario, CA, contend that LA/Ontario Airport would be a major driver of development -- if it wasn't mismanaged by an airport authority controlled by the City of Los Angeles.
A New Saudi Arabia Rises Out of the Desert
An under-20 population of more than 13 million and an eagerness to move the national economy away from oil production have the Saudi government investing heavily in huge new cities that are designed to encourage a 'Western-style modernity.'
The Best Laid Plans
Planning students at the University of British Columbia unveiled bold new plans for Vancouver for the next 40 years, but as planning director Brent Toderian put it, the plans are "the easy part."
First Nation-Wide Count of Parking Spaces
A new study estimates there are at least 500 million off-street parking spaces in the U.S. This represents 0.5% to 12% of estimated lifecycle energy consumption and greenhouse emissions, and 24% to 81% other air pollutants.
FEATURE
Following the High Line
City of Charlotte
Municipality of Princeton
Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
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