The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

After years of debate and negotiation, the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site finally appears to be going forward. But there is considerable doubt as to its economic viability, writes Eliot Brown.

March 17 - New York Observer

In a recent piece in Wired, Clive Thompson suggests that the solution to the problem of texting while driving is not to stop texting, but to stop driving. The popularity of texting is a good reason to support public transit.

March 17 - Wired Magazine

State legislators in Illinois have lifted a 23-year ban on building nuclear plants within the state.

March 17 - Chicago Sun-Times

Spain's high speed rail system is consistently beating out airlines for inter-city travel. But it's not through low prices.

March 17 - The New York Times

WalMart made an offer to purchase a plot from a family in Frankenmuth, Michigan, but withdrew the offer when the City Council rezoned the land for a limited building size. The family sued, and a federal judge awarded them $3.6 million.

March 17 - The Saginaw News

In Seattle, the street names were settled a century ago. Naming alleys and other unnamed civic features is a way to reclaim urban spaces and enhance heritage. Kurt Cobain Way, anyone?

March 17 - Crosscut

Do certain kinds of people - students, elderly, environmentalists - choose to ride transit because of who they are? Or does the proper infrastructure make the difference?

March 17 - Psystenance

The public image of Pittsburgh is of a dirty, industrial city, but the city has been at the forefront of sustainability for some time.

March 17 - Pittsburg Post-Gazette

The Colorado River Delta is in tough shape once it ventures into Mexico. But now, a group of NGOs and local governments are showing how the sensitive area can be kept clean.

March 17 - Miller-McCune Magazine

The American Dream is a concept that's had a rough go for the past few years. A new survey shows that nearly two-thirds of Americans don't think that dream can become reality.

March 17 - The Atlantic

BLOG POST

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <a href="http://www.reason.tv/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; color: #800080; font-size: small">Reason.tv</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small"> has launched a multipart series of videos </span><a href="http://www.reason.tv/video/show/reason-saves-cleveland-with-dr"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; color: #800080; font-size: small">on how the city of Cleveland can turn itself around</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small"> using free-market approaches and limited government reforms.

March 16 - Samuel Staley

The historic Angel's Flight funicular reopened yesterday, as Mayor Villaraigosa announces his vision to transform Los Angeles' transit system in 10 years.

March 16 - True/Slant

Is density a goal unto itself? John Parman argues that a 38-story building proposed for San Francisco has little to do with walkable urbanism, and continues "a sorry tradition of case-by-case rezoning."

March 16 - The Architect's Newspaper

That's what Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood wrote in his blog after attending the League of Bicyclist's 10th Anniversary Summit, March 9-11 in D.C. And he means it - as reflected in the DOT's Policy Statement on bike and ped accommodations.

March 16 - League of American Bicyclists

As part of its extensive coverage of water issues in the U.S., <em>The New York Times</em> looks at the aging water systems that plague American cities and what it would cost to fix them.

March 16 - The New York Times

The City of Cleveland has designated design review districts that require a hearing before demolishing potentially significant buildings. The Chester Conference Center, and most of the Cleveland Clinic campus, lie in-between protected districts.

March 16 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Architecture critic Inga Saffron takes a look at what she thinks is "the most innovative take on the traditional rowhouse that Philadelphia has seen in years." Saffron remarks on how the building obeys the rules and innovates at the same time.

March 16 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Woonerf" is a Dutch word for streets that mix cars and people, but with pedestrians as the dominant mode. Toronto planners are using the concept in their plans for the West Don Lands neighborhood.

March 16 - The Toronto Star

Less money for highways, more for transit and "complete streets" - New Urban News takes a look at where the $1.5 billion TIGER grants are going.

March 16 - New Urban News

Houston Rodeo is actually hurting some businesses around Reliant Center.

March 16 - KUHF Houston Public Radio