The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Styled after Harper's Index, this "Localism Index" suggests that local economies and independent businesses might just be making a comeback.

April 19 - The Nation

Leaders in Charleston County have reversed course on a $500 million highway expansion plan, following public outcry.

April 19 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

The "population center" is a statistical construct that designates the midpoint where the Northern and Southern California populations are equally balanced on either side. For the first time in a century, that midpoint has moved northward.

April 19 - The Contra Costa Times

Rick Scott's general counsel, Charles Trippe, admitted that he "misrepresented a central fact" to support the governor's rejection of federal funds for HSR. This fact could lead to a reopening of the case, according to The Infrastructurist.

April 19 - The Infrastructurist

Congressional budget cuts spare some favorite programs of transportation reformers and smart growth advocates.

April 19 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

New pedestrian signs installed throughout London aim to encourage more people to walk by providing them with information on walking times and local attractions.

April 18 - This Big City

Aaron Renn of <em>Urbanophile</em> explains the allure of "greenfield economics" and that the process of urban and suburban decay is cyclical in nature.

April 18 - Urbanophile

The EPA is moving its regional headquarters from downtown Kansas City (Kansas) to a suburb 20 miles outside the city, a move which "could nearly triple transportation carbon emissions associated with the facility," according to Kaid Benfield.

April 18 - Sustainable Cities Collective

The 72 hour event is intended to challenge the idea that creating change in public space is long and difficult, explains the event's founder, Karem Halbrecht.

April 18 - GOOD Magazine

The National Journal has created a large, zoomable map of the world showing the footprint of humanity on the Earth.

April 18 - National Journal

The original layout of New York's street grid took advantage of the natural elements like light, wind and good soil to effectively encourage greenery in the city. Alec Applebaum says the city could do well to hearken back to the original plans.

April 18 - The New York Times

FEATURE

The excesses of the "landscape urbanism" aside, Michael Mehaffy believes landscape architects are well positioned to lead the way towards positive change in the urban landscape. Here's why.

April 18 - Michael Mehaffy

Indiana State Sen. Luke Kenley thinks the state's redevelopment agencies have too much freedom to approve spending on large projects and has proposed a bill to curb their power, but the state House has refused to hear the bill.

April 18 - The Indianapolis Star

U.S. Green Building Council has launched another refinement of its certification system aimed specifically at green building for healthcare.

April 18 - Earth Techling

Andres Duany, the most vocal of New Urbanist, says that the critiques of the "ism" he helped create brand it as a "rustic version of starchitect culture" when it is in actuality an "expanding web of ideas, techniques, projects, and people."

April 18 - Metropolis Magazine

A group calling itself the "Detroit Mower Gang" has gone rogue on the city's poorly maintained playgrounds, attacking them with weed wackers and riding mowers to get them back into shape for the city's kids.

April 18 - The Hub (Detroit Regional News)

The Atlanta Regional Commission has delivered a massive wish list of 436 transit and transportation projects to be funded by a new sales tax increase. Ariel Hart reports that the proposal indicates that the region is clamoring for mass transit.

April 17 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Architect Vishaan Chakrabarti writes that Japan's urbanism should serve as a model to the rest of the world for its density and the "urbane society" it creates.

April 17 - Urban Omnibus

Former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening says that in some ways the economic downturn in the U.S. has been a good thing because it gave the state a chance to reevaluate development patterns.

April 17 - South Maryland Newspapers Online

Revitalizing American manufacturing is widely-acknowledged as vital to our country’s economic recovery and long-term prosperity, but it is equally essential to understand the changing of this sector in order to make smart policy decisions.

April 17 - Brookings Institution/Pratt Center for Community Development