The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Companies are moving back to the city in response to a new generation of workers who prefer the urban environment over suburban office parks.

July 22 - CNN Money

Based on estimated returns on investment in single-family home rental properties of 316 markets, Las Vegas is your best bet to invest on rental properties. Orlando, Tampa, and Fort Lauderdale - all in Florida - also made the list.

July 22 - CNN Money

Patrick Kennedy stresses the importance of quality over quantity in residential housing by comparing houses in McKinney, North Texas, with those on Swiss Avenue near Downtown Dallas.

July 22 - D Magazine

Tom Angotti writes that Mayor Bloomberg has ambitious goals for solving NYC's affordable housing problems, but they may not be in step with today's real estate market.

July 22 - The Gotham Gazette

Walmart easily received approval for four new big box stores in Washington, D.C. With so much opposition elsewhere, why the open arms in the Beltway?

July 22 - New Urban Network

Major study by the Partnership for Prevention identifies numerous ways to reduce air pollution, increase physical fitness and reduce traffic risk.

July 22 - Transportation and Health: Policy Interventions for Safer

The head of the New York MTA, Jay Walder, is leaving to take charge of a private transportation company in Hong Kong.

July 22 - The New York Times

Financial analysts and members of the real estate industry are worried that, if the U.S. government doesn't resolve the debt ceiling crisis soon, an already fragile housing market will be dealt a serious blow, and with it the entire U.S. economy.

July 22 - NPR

In a post at Project for Public Spaces, a politician from Spokane, WA is quoted as saying the way municipal governments could spur job growth is by building public spaces where people want to live, work, shop and invest.

July 21 - Project For Public Spaces

Dan Leavitt, California High-Speed Rail Authority’s deputy director, says Calif. can either be at the whim of 'market-driven sprawl,' or high-speed rail can revolutionize the state. Yet, arguments for getting people to ride rail are contentious.

July 21 - The New York Times

Each year <em>Walk Score</em> ranks the top cities for walking, according to its own walk score methodology. In 2011, NYC placed #1. See the rest of the top 10!

July 21 - Walk Score

Observer music writers Pete Freeman and Daniel Hopkins debate the affects of suburban sprawl on the local music scene.

July 21 - Dallas Observer

In the Philippines, "eco-entrepreneur" Ilac Diaz is spreading an idea from MIT using 2-liter soda bottles and bleach to bring a 60 watt light bulb's worth of light into the building below.

July 21 - Reuters UK

Consultants hired by the City of Toronto are recommending dramatic cuts to public transit, including contracting out some routes and eliminating a late-night bus service popular with shift workers.

July 21 - The Globe and Mail

Bicycle use has increased in many parts of New Orleans, thanks to new bike lanes.

July 21 - Metropolis

FEATURE

July 21 - Amber Hawkes

A new public park in downtown Phoenix is both a venue for artists and performers and a public space that calls to mind a small neighborhood park, according to this piece from <em>Next American City</em>.

July 21 - Next American City

Though much of its urban form requires a car to traverse, a few new projects in Miami are shifting the city away from its past of parking lot sprawl.

July 21 - Wallpaper

Bicycling is growing in popularity in the U.S., but it still isn't considered a serious form of transportation as it is in Europe, according to this piece from <em>Yale Environment 360</em>.

July 21 - Yale Environment 360

Los Angeles Designer Julie Kim thinks the city is missing out on an opportunity at public transit hubs to create an environment that promotes interaction. So, Kim spruces up a bus stop with a coffee table and flowers and video records the results.

July 20 - GOOD Magazine