The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A new report from the American Public Transit Association shows how transit riders are saving a bundle in comparison with car commuters, particularly when you factor in the rising cost of gasoline.

March 7 - Treehugger

America's cities and towns have issued nearly $3 trillion in municipal bonds, yet are facing shrinking revenues, budget shortfalls and enormous pension obligations. There are fears that the next financial crisis will be municipal bankruptcies.

March 7 - New York Times

Philadelphia may lose its world-famous skateboarding landmark with the renovation of its LOVE Park plaza, flaring a decade-old debate that has made international headlines.

March 6 - The Philadelphia Daily News

The FL Supreme Court ruled March 4 against two state senators who sued to save the project despite Gov. Rick Scott's opposition. DOT Secretary LaHood contacted Scott a third time before announcing that $2.4 billion in HSR funds would be redirected.

March 6 - St. Petersburg Times

FEATURE

As cities in developing countries expand, is smart growth the right approach? The conclusions of a new report by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy may surprise you.

March 6 - Gregory K. Ingram

Will the settling down of Generation X, whose youngest members are now turning 30, represent a boom in localism and community building? Scott Doyon thinks so.

March 6 - PlaceShakers

Hybrid solar/diesel ferries have been plying the waters for some time now, but now a number of new technologies are being implemented, including one of the very oldest - sails.

March 6 - InTransition

Michael Klare argues that the revolution and turmoil sweeping so many of the Middle Eastern oil-producing nations will bring the age of cheap oil to an end.

March 6 - Truthout

Aaron M. Renn says that Nashville has very few significant assets in comparison with other Midwestern cities, but it appears to poised for significant growth. What's happening in Nashville?

March 5 - New Geography

Toronto's City Hall is a massive concrete structure. Oddly, so was all its furniture, which was included with the original design. <em>99% Invisible</em> looks at this unconventional design choice, and the legacy of that furniture.

March 5 - 99% Invisible

<em>Grist</em> delves into the responses and repercussions of a recent <em>New York Times</em> story about contaminated water in Pittsburgh caused by a method of extracting natural gas known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking.

March 5 - Grist

A new gondola cable car system is opening in a Rio de Janeiro slum to improve accessibility.

March 5 - Wired

Streetfilms takes a look at the growing trend of car sharing as part of its series on cities moving beyond the automobile.

March 5 - Streetfilms

BLOG POST

<p> Working for a small municipality - regardless of its location - has all the isolating properties of a far-away fiefdom.  So it has been with great consternation that, despite being nary a narrow river&#39;s width from that island, I have been yet so far removed from the industry-insider privileges of working on transportation projects in Manhattan.  I am, admittedly, all but entirely absorbed by work in the New York City satellite of Hoboken, NJ, and while aware of progress as reported by the media, have nonetheless lost granular touch with the revolutionary day-to-day goings-on in my career&#39;s former epicenter.  From this side of the Hudson I read the broad <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/nyregion/06sadik-khan.html?pagewanted=1&amp;_r=1&amp;adxnnlx=1299299134-EbMLr

March 5 - Ian Sacs

Chinese search engine company Baidu has developed an alternative to Google's (banned in China) 3D view.

March 4 - Gizmodo

Writing for <em>The Architect's Newspaper</em>, Sam Lubell argues that current L.A. zoning regulations require architects and developers to endure a "ridiculous, disjointed, outdated process."

March 4 - The Achitect's Newspaper

A city in Michigan has initiated a plan to provide greater beach and park access to those who are disabled.

March 4 - South Bend Tribune

No matter what alternatives it can think of, the Obama Administration remains baffled why most Americans are still attached to their cars, says Fred Barnes.

March 4 - The Weekly Standard

From high drug use to overpriced housing, Vancouver has its flaws despite its 5-year strong top spot as the world's most livable city.

March 4 - National Post

Gold mining was an integral part of what made the city of Johannesburg, South Africa one of the most economically important cities on the continent. But as mining winds down, some are trying to find new ways to use the landscape of mining operations.

March 4 - Places