The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Los Angeles Lacking Data to Support Bike Infrastructure Investments

Los Angeles has added hundreds of miles of bike routes in recent years, but the local paper of record identifies a lack of data as contributing to ongoing discord from drivers who feel like they're being pinched by bike lanes.

December 24 - Los Angeles Times

Philadelphia Replacing 7 Bridges Above Vine Street Expressway

"A five-year, $82 million project to replace seven bridges over the Vine Street Expressway will also remodel the cultural spine of the city," reports Paul Nussbaum.

December 24 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

10 Years After the Indonesian Tsunami: Rehousing for Resilience

What can rehousing initiatives teach us about the ongoing struggle for urban resilience?

December 23 - Places Journal

Infill Approved for St. Louis' Forest Park Southeast

The Forest Park Southeast neighborhood in St. Louis, including an area known as The Grove, is taking a careful approach to infill development on city-owned lots in light of recent investment and demand.

December 23 - nextSTL

Seattle Tunnel Boring

How Seattle's 'Rose-tinted Fantasy' Threw Billions in Public Money Away

"Seattle is in the midst of a full-spectrum transportation fustercluck," writes David Roberts for Grist.

December 23 - Grist


Billings, Montana (Pop. 109,058) Planning for Growth

Mike Ferguson reports on the process of updating the growth plan—working title "Beyond Billings"—for the city of Billings, Montana.

December 23 - Billings Gazette

Renters Are Not the Problem

A few weeks ago, Alan Mallach asked the question, "do urban neighborhoods need homeowners?" Tony Roshan Samara challenges his answer.

December 23 - Rooflines


San Antonio Christmas

San Antonio Set to Become Fifth-Largest U.S. City

The city may grow by 200,000 in the next two years, surpassing Philadelphia and Phoenix, if city leaders agree to annex five surrounding unincorporated areas. The Wall Street Journal considers the effect of annexation on meeting inner city needs.

December 23 - The Wall Street Journal

An App to Help the Visually Impaired Use Transit

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, working with the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is testing an app that will help the blind navigate Arlington Station in early 2015. The app will eventually be free to use throughout the system.

December 23 - The Boston Globe

Op-Ed: Put Chicago on a Road Diet

"The city should consider road diets for all streets with excess car capacity, although they're not always politically easy," writes John Greenfield.

December 23 - Crain's Chicago Business

Downtown Cincinnati

The Role of Stadiums in Urban Revitalization

Los Angeles Dodger Senior Vice President of Planning and Development Janet Marie Smith reflects on her efforts to breathe new life into downtowns through sports stadiums.

December 23 - The Planning Report

The Never-Built Legacy of New York's Tech Firms

A big picture explanation, with case studies, of why New York's newest wave of commercial businesses won't leave their mark on the city like it might have in the past.

December 23 - New York YIMBY

Last Minute Gift Ideas for the Plannerd in Your Life

For those searching for gifts for the "plannerds" in their life, Los Angeles County planner Clement Lau comes through with some ideas sure to bring good tidings.

December 22 - UrbDeZine

Busy Crossing Street

Big Cities Make Pedestrian Safety a Priority

New data released Dec. 19 by NHTSA shows increased safety for those traveling by car, but pedestrian fatalities are 15% higher than in 2009. Plans by San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago to increase ped safety are described by the WSJ.

December 22 - The Wall Street Journal

San Francisco Chronicle Takes a Deep Look at Gentrification in the Mission

A feature series by the San Francisco Chronicle explores the challenges of gentrification at what some might consider ground zero of gentrification in the San Francisco Bay Area—the Mission.

December 22 - San Francisco Chronicle

What Would it Take to Build a Tram Network the Size of Melbourne's?

Melbourne, Australia, is fortunate it inherited the largest tram network in the world, because building something like it today—say in a city such as Sydney—would be extraordinarily expensive and difficult.

December 22 - The Urbanist

$4 Billion Plan for Intermodal Connections to LAX Moves Forward

Southern California is in the process of undoing the decades of planning that has left LAX isolated and inaccessible except through an ocean of congestion and frustration. Plans to connect the airport to the region recently gained critical approval.

December 22 - Curbed LA

Resort and NBA Arena Proposed for the Las Vegas Strip

A developer hopes to bring more of a Times Square feel to the Las Vegas Strip—and maybe an NBA team will follow.

December 22 - The Architect's Newspaper

Montreal Freeway

Montreal to Tear Down Elevated Bonaventure Expressway

The city of Montreal announced final plans to tear down an elevated highway and replace it with an urban boulevard.

December 22 - Montreal Gazette

Michigan Voters to Decide on Transportation Sales Tax

The Michigan legislature compromised on a plan to raise money for state transportation funding. Instead of increasing the fuel tax, voters will consider an increased sales tax that exempts the fuel tax.

December 22 - MLive

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