The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

As part of its "Future Tense" initiative with the New America Foundation, Slate is exploring the concept of resilience. In this article, Patrick Doherty makes the case for improving America's resilience by reconsidering suburban development.

March 22 - Slate.com

The Sacramento, California, region may be witnessing a minor planning miracle: a regional sustainability plan lauded by developers, environmentalists, and civic officials alike.

March 22 - California Planning & Development Report

Jeff McMahon explores the potential of passenger rail in coming years as automobiles and airplanes "become a little more obsolete."

March 21 - Forbes

David Morley, AICP, asks if growth is a necessary prerequisite for long-term community health and prosperity, and whether it might be possible to rethink "the dominant planning paradigm in the United States."

March 21 - APA Sustaining Places

In light of the recent controversy surrounding the Eisenhower Memorial in Washington DC, and observations from a recent trip to Japan, Christopher Hawthorne pens an opinion piece on memorials - the "eternally fraught corner of design practice.

March 21 - Los Angeles Times

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal"> Our profession relies on logical analysis of accurate data. There are an amazing number of ways to go wrong. </p>

March 21 - Todd Litman

The search for an available parking space in most busy downtowns can be frustrating, especially when the motorist insists on parking for free. For those cities that do charge for parking, can a variable price free-up spaces? SF hopes to prove so.

March 21 - The New York Times - U.S.

In a piece for GE's <em>Ecomagination</em>, Michael d'Estries takes a look at five cities that set the bar for cutting carbon, recycling waste, and making space for Mother Nature.

March 21 - Ecomagination

In this piece, <em>Web Urbanist</em> has compiled fourteen "smart & sensitive" design solutions for providing housing for the homeless.

March 21 - Web Urbanist

Looking back on the remarkable transformation of urban life in New York during Mayor Bloomberg's administration, William Menking wonders what the next mayor will do to support design and planning in the city.

March 21 - The Architect's Newspaper

The Chinese government is taking productive steps to reduce the runaway congestion and air pollution that are making Beijing unlivable, writes Heshuang Zeng.

March 21 - The City Fix

An interactive visualization recently released by Unicef presents a startling picture of the world's urban population growth from 1950 to 2050. Mark Wilson deconstructs its implications.

March 21 - Fast Company Co:Design

Ever wonder why Los Angeles looks the way it does? Jeremy Rosenberg examines 1908's Residence District Ordinance as one of the principal culprits in the newest addition to the "Laws That Shaped L.A." series.

March 21 - KCET Departures

Robert Cyran and Agnes T. Crane discuss the changing dynamics of the U.S. housing market and suggest that reduced inventories, pent-up demand and an improved employment outlook may mean more stability.

March 20 - Slate.com

Kirk Victor examines the new and risky roads many cities are taking to get immediate access to capital in order to finance their fiscal challenges.

March 20 - Governing

Lisa McGirr looks at the growing challenge of suburban poverty, which in the last decade has climbed by 25 percent (almost five times faster than cities), and the larger trends that it signifies.

March 20 - The New York Times

Google is big business in Mountain View, but it's located in a cul-de-sac business park two miles from the city's transit center. "Personal rapid transit" may be the answer to solving the company's commuting challenges.

March 20 - California Planning & Development Report

Amanda Hurley examines the furor that has developed in the four months since a design by Frank Gehry for a memorial to President Dwight Eisenhower, destined for a four-acre site just off the National Mall in Washington D.C., was made public.

March 20 - The Architect's Newspaper

John King writes about an ambitious new regional plan for the Bay Area that looks to accommodate the 1.1 million new jobs and 2.1 million new residents expected by 2040, with relatively little suburban sprawl.

March 20 - San Francisco Chronicle

Malcolm Moore reports on Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco City, the world's largest eco-city, where residents will be guinea pigs as planners experiment with the city around them.

March 20 - The Telegraph