The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Bloomberg Businessweek examines the failed Columbia River Crossing project as a poster child for how political dysfunction is derailing critically needed infrastructure.

January 12 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Look no further than House Speaker John Boehner. MSNBC contributor Steve Benen reports on a Jan. 8 Capitol Hill press conference where the Republican speaker from Ohio appeared to put the kibosh on even considering a federal gas tax increase.

January 12 - MSNBC/Maddow Blog

One of the most heavily-contested transit projects in the United States, the Southwest light rail line in the metropolitan Twin Cities area, is encountering increased levels of political opposition.

January 12 - MPR News

A movement at the state and federal levels would take advantage of low oil prices to boost gas taxes to pay for infrastructure. Michigan, Iowa, and Utah proposals, and a change to the federal Corker-Murphy plan, are described below.

January 12 - The Wall Street Journal

FEATURE

'Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class' by Scott Timberg argues that cities must defend and support local culture in the face of the homogenizing effects of the creative class.

January 12 - Josh Stephens

BLOG POST

The evolution of the development agreement reveals how its proliferation as a land use tool is a symptom of a larger struggle between increasingly complicated land use regulations, the public’s conflicting goals, and developers’ desire for certainty

January 11 - Reuben Duarte

The House voted for the tenth time to approve the pipeline, and a split decision by the Nebraska Supreme Court removes a key objection of President Barack Obama to ruling on Keystone XL. The Senate begins debate Monday.

January 11 - NPR: The Two-Way

Cities simply can't afford the lawsuits that follow sledding injuries. Time will tell how strictly such laws are enforced.

January 11 - Quartz

The Oklahoma Gazette takes an in-depth look at the city's efforts to attract and retain millennials.

January 11 - Oklahoma Gazette

Buried in the Port Authority's recent report on the future its financing and operations, was a plan to move forward with a project to increase transit capacity across the Hudson River.

January 11 - Bloomberg

Linda Poon shares news of a short documentary about a Chinese artist trying to "bring economic and cultural development to a village struggling to survive China's rapid urbanization."

January 10 - NPR

John King writes that the "Gallery + Ideas Forum" at the Presidio in San Francisco provides an excellent model for presenting issues and ideas of planning and urban design to the public.

January 10 - San Francisco Chronicle

An article on Washington Post's Wonkblog says what some bikers were thinking: sometimes it feels safer to break the law.

January 10 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Next City has published a list of ten "great picture books" that explore urban life for the curious and imaginative children in your life.

January 10 - Next City

Reports that the St. Louis Rams intend to move back to Los Angeles mobilized an effort by state and city leadership to keep the team in St. Louis.

January 10 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The Milken's Institute report ranked San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City at the top of the performance index for the first time in the list's 15-year history.

January 9 - CityLab

Electrification of the Caltrain will be great for train riders, the environment, air quality, and public health, but it might worsen traffic congestion between San Jose and San Francisco by increasing the frequency of commuter trains.

January 9 - San Jose Mercury News

The earth has been moving all week in North Texas. An editorial by The Dallas Morning News calls on the state's new governor to show leadership, even at risk of upsetting the oil industry, to find out more about the causes of the seismic activity.

January 9 - The Dallas Morning News

Successful Chicago urban agriculture projects on rooftop, in edible lawn, and at a school reviewed by resilience consultant Dave Hampton.

January 9 - UrbDeZine

Seven years after the housing bust began, millions of Americans are still suffering. And suffering is the operative word—because both foreclosures and economic inequality impact people’s health.

January 9 - Rooflines