The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

What's your elevator pitch on why placemaking matters? Here's a couple rounded up by Hazel Borys, and some numbers that help refine their message.

September 16 - PlaceShakers

A new study revealed that more car buyers are choosing plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) while fewer are choosing traditional hybrid vehicles. Both types are considered to be electric vehicles, and hybrid sales far outnumber PEV sales.

September 16 - Los Angeles Times

Henry Louis Gates Jr. of Harvard University and The Root tells of the Virginia outpost that helped inspire the artists of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.

September 16 - The Root

With a somewhat-surprise launch last week, the Cincy Red Bike program has hit the streets in Cincinnati. Along with the program's launch come previously unknown details about the program.

September 16 - UrbanCincy

In a significant first, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is seeking ideas for developing the air rights above four urban rail stations.

September 16 - Atlanta Business Chronicle

New Jersey Transit recently announced plans to buy larger trains and buses to increase the capacity of commute infrastructure into and out of New York City.

September 16 - Asbury Park Press

In both a literal and figurative sign of the times, the Chinese city of Chongqing recently installed signage and marking to segregate pedestrian traffic between smartphone users and those walking free of such technological distractions.

September 16 - The Washington Post

The "9x18" proposal by the Institute for Public Architecture provides a lesson in the relationship between parking requirements and the cost of housing.

September 15 - New York Times

According to developer and consultant Michael P. Russell, the city of Los Angeles has a chronic shortage of funds for infrastructure due to a bloated bureaucracy, small district city council elections, and term limits.

September 15 - UrbDeZine

The findings of a new report from United Van Lines along with Michael Stoll, an economist at University of California Los Angeles, show surprising trends from this summer's prime moving months, especially in the Pacific Northwest.

September 15 - The Seattle Times

All Aboard Florida, the diesel-powered, high speed (125 mph) train connecting Miami to Orlando has ordered new locomotives and coaches with Siemen's Sacramento, California plant. The mostly privately funded train should be running by 2016.

September 15 - Orlando Sentinel

Philadelphia Inquirer Architecture Critic Inga Saffron is the latest to respond to an article in the Washington Post asking whether family-friendly cities make economic sense.

September 15 - Philadelphia Inquirer

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced the sixth round of TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant funding.

September 15 - Transportation for America

BLOG POST

Is there a sweet spot where architectural boldness and innovation meet sensitivity to local context, history, and culture?

September 15 - Dean Saitta

According to Kaid Benfield of the Natural Resource Defense Council, the best way to save our natural wonders is by living and investing in cities.

September 15 - NRDC Switchboard

Streetsblog's Tanya Snyder, attending the Pro-Walk Pro-Bike Pro-Place conference in Pittsburgh, Pa., reports that Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced a U.S. DOT pedestrian and bike safety initiative.

September 15 - Streetsblog USA

A recent study by the New York City Department of Transportation on buffered bike lane interventions showed maintained traffic speeds while cyclist safety increased.

September 15 - CityLab

While projects funded from the Highway Trust Fund are safe through May, discretionary programs run by DOT from annual appropriations must wait for Congress to approve a budget, which just got more complicated due to Obama's anti-ISIS funding request.

September 14 - Transportation For America blog

West Hollywood, California Mayor John D'Amico is leading calls to add more dog-friendly amenities to designs for Phase 2 of the city's civic park.

September 14 - Los Angeles Times

Chicago won the opportunity to house the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, proposed for a location at Chicago's Museum Campus. But critics are gathering with questions about how the museum will fit into the city's fabric.

September 14 - Chicago Tribune