The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Allison Arieff takes a look at some of the ways GIS and other data-visualization technologies can help to address urban problems.

February 4 - NYTimes: Opinionator Blog

Instead of building its signature single family homes in dense New York neighborhoods, Habitat is expanding its model to include LEED-certified apartment buildings.

February 4 - New York Times

FEATURE

Housing affordability is too often seen as the way to stabilize and revitalize weak markets. Neighborhood planning consultants Charles Buki and Elizabeth Humphrey Schilling argue that interventions in weak markets must encourage investment by improving market confidence.

February 4 - Charles Buki

Haiti's official seismologist predicted the earthquake, and says the capital is in a high-risk zone for future quakes. With funds coming in to rebuild, the decision is pressing.

February 3 - Spiegel International

2010 may become a tipping-point for bike-share programs with new pilots popping up in Denver, Boston and Minneapolis.

February 3 - Marketplace Radio

<em>Transport Politic</em> takes a detailed look at the transportation projects suggested by the Federal Transit Administration's recently released Annual Report on Funding Recommendations.

February 3 - Transport Politic

This post from <em>GOOD</em> looks at how a street can become a bicycle corridor.

February 3 - Good

The Obama Administration has made a variety of pledges to focus on urban areas and metropolitan regions as it lays out policy for the country. But how realistic is the Obama urban vision?

February 3 - Citiwire

Two years ago, Steve Patterson suffered a stroke. As he goes through the process of recovery, he sees some lessons for struggling cities.

February 3 - Urban Review STL

BLOG POST

<p> Most attempts to regulate suburban development have focused on containing the growth of suburban housing. But such regulation, by restricting the supply of buildable land, risks incresing housing prices. And from a more libertarian perspective, an individual&#39;s interest in choosing to &quot;drive to qualify&quot; may seem quite appealing. Attempts to regulate commercial suburban development do not involve the same sentimental considerations as limits on residential development, but do risk increasing prices for commercial land, thus increasing prices for everything else. </p>

February 3 - Michael Lewyn

This post from <em>The Nature Conservancy</em> examines the impact of urbanization on nature and finds that our rising food needs will be one of the most important implications.

February 3 - The Nature Conservancy

<em>National Journal</em> asks its panel of transportation experts whether the Obama Administration's recent announcement of high-speed rail funding projects is really a wise investment.

February 3 - National Journal

This article recalls the story of Patricia Moore, who dressed up as an 80-year-old woman to better understand how the elderly interact with products and the built environment.

February 3 - California College of the Arts

Gigaom looks at a handful of "augmented reality" apps, both current and projected, that create an interface between the internet and the world around us.

February 3 - Gigaom

That's according to the National Vacant Properties Campaign. But there is a glimmer of hope as cases of 'temporary urbanism' and 'pop-up stores' fill the void.

February 2 - Governing Magazine

The St. Louis Post Dispatch laments the $1.1 billion the St.Louis to Chicago corridor received for high speed rail, wishing it had gone to worthier projects such as subsidizing local public transit.

February 2 - St.Louis Post-Dispatch

Pedestrians, street vendors, scooters and squatters all compete for space on the gridlocked sidewalks of Mumbai, where nearly 60% of the population travels by foot. Solution? 50 elevated walkways, or "skywalks."

February 2 - TheCityFix.com

Architect and urban designer Hector Fernando Burga looks at Haiti through the lens of a Haitian enclave in Miami and wonders what role designers can play in the devastated country's revival.

February 2 - Places

Birth rates are dropping across Europe, and some cities are on the verge of collapse because of it. Exhibit A: Hoyerswerda, Germany.

February 2 - Guardian

Technology is going to be deeply integrated within New Songdo City, an instant city developing on a man-made island off the coast of Korea.

February 2 - Fast Company