The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Just as Witold Rybczynski declares New York's High Line un-copyable, St. Louis announces plans for a linear park on top of an old railroad trestle

May 19 - St. Louis Post Dispatch

This interactive map from the <em>BBC</em> tracks growth and urbanization in global cities from 1955 up through 2015.

May 19 - BBC

Detroit should look to a neighbor in the north for advice on rebounding from industrial decline, according to this piece from <em>New Geography</em>, which argues that Winnipeg has already paved the way.

May 19 - New Geography

Seattle is growing more dense, which is underlining the importance of the city's public spaces. But as this piece from <em>Crosscut</em> argues, the city's public spaces are mostly bleak and underused.

May 19 - Crosscut

The dividing lines in the cities of today are not so much about neighborhoods, but rather the relative health of those neighborhoods, according to this piece from <em>The Globe and Mail</em>.

May 19 - The Globe and Mail

Transportation is increasingly seen as a major concern as London prepares to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. As crowds fill the city, many wonder whether it will be able to handle the load and keep everyone moving.

May 19 - The Guardian

The <em>Urban Guide for Alternate Use</em> points to a campaign by a group called Varsity of Maneuvers that reuses street poles for pole dancing.

May 19 - Urban Guide for Alternate Use

Construction of a multi-use event arena in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, was supposed to be a boon for the city. But when events dried up, costs mounted and a big building became a big mistake.

May 19 - The New York Times

While cities throughout California and the rest of the nation struggle to afford even their most basic services, L.A. County's moving ahead with more than $4 billion in transportation projects.

May 19 - Los Angeles Times

The U.S. is falling behind other nations in keeping up its transportation systems and infrastructure, according to a new report from the Urban Land Institute.

May 18 - The Washington Post

Robert Campbell keeps hoping that the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway (the park built over the Big Dig site) will attract visitors. But even as it gets more beautiful, it still fails in terms of usage.

May 18 - The Boston Globe

Mattel chose to premiere its "Architect Barbie" at the AIA Convention in New Orleans, and reporter Doug MacCash foregoes the plastic icon to talk to another sort of icon—Andres Duany.

May 18 - The Times-Picayune

Exposition Park in Los Angeles is on the verge of major changes -- a retired space shuttle, the last days of a stadium, new transit access, and the demolition of a piece of big-name architecture. But looking at its history, changes are nothing new.

May 18 - Los Angeles Times

Portland Mayor Sam Adams has pledged to increase the amount of money dedicated to bicycle planning and bicycle infrastructure from 4% to 17% in the city's next budget.

May 18 - The Oregonian

Doha wants to have a fully functioning metro rail system in place by the time Qatar hosts the 2022 World Cup, but the tight deadline of the event has some officials worried the system won't be complete in time.

May 18 - Gulf Times

Projections of water shortages and predicted changes in the climate mean bad news for water users in the American West.

May 18 - Miller-McCune

BLOG POST

<p> Last week, I was busy trying to turn my paper on sprawl in Canada (available at http://works.bepress.com/lewyn/65/) into a speech.   In my paper, I define sprawl in two ways: where we grow (measured by growth or decline of central cities, controlling for municipal annexations) and how we grow (measured by modal shares for cars and transit).  As I was proofing, I asked myself: why these particular measurements?  What presuppositions underlie defining sprawl based on, say, modal share as opposed to the growth of a urban area&#39;s land mass? </p>

May 18 - Michael Lewyn

Honolulu has the most accessible public transit in the U.S., but apparently the same state with the worst traffic in the nation has the 2nd-most convenient transit.

May 18 - California Planning & Development Report

In Vancouver, urban density is being attacked as a detriment to the city. But as this column argues, the city's emphasis on density and transit accessibility is what makes the city great.

May 18 - The Globe and Mail

Fast Company chooses Houston as its 2011 City of the Year, citing its sense of opportunity and general affordability as the major reasons for its selection.

May 18 - Fast Company