The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

While some cities have focused planning efforts on making their public spaces more accessible for the elderly, some argue that the age group they should be focusing on is kids.

February 2 - Good

Of all the environmental problems facing California, depletion of its groundwater may be the most important according to this piece.

February 2 - NRDC Switchboard

<em>Los Angeles Times</em> architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne begins a year-long series reading and reviewing 25 books all about L.A.

February 2 - Los Angeles Times

Struggling Rust Belt cities could be the smart move for retirees, according to this article.

February 2 - Reuters

This slideshow from <em>The New York Times</em> looks at a variety of examples of large-scale planning efforts that never materialized.

February 2 - The New York Times

With recent uprisings in Cairo and Tunis, we are reminded that the city has been the center of revolutionary action for hundreds of years, according to this piece from Edward L. Glaeser.

February 2 - The New York Times

A new proposal in Washington could help fund urban infrastructure by transferring development rights from rural areas to cities.

February 2 - Crosscut

Economic crises tend to manifest themselves in specific design trends, especially in the field of architecture. This latest recession has spurred the age of Do-It-Yourself architecture and urbanism.

February 1 - Places

Entertainment Giant AEG appears to have partnered with Farmers Insurance for naming rights to the proposed stadium in Downtown L.A.

February 1 - Bloomberg

Two Virginia-based burger chains are interested in opening locations in Downtown Portland, but are facing opposition from city residents and officials.

February 1 - The Portland Press Herald

Conservative political and media rhetoric aimed at "fat cat" public employees scapegoats middle-class workers for the economic crisis and threatens to undermine public welfare at all levels, write Max Fraad Wolff and Richard D. Wolff.

February 1 - Truthout

Artists tend to flock to big cities where their art can be bought and appreciated, but economic hard times are sending artists fleeing towards cheaper rents on homes and studio space.

February 1 - Utne Reader

What makes effective transit-oriented development? Transportation planner Alan Huynh makes a good argument for the proximity to a cup of coffee as a defining characteristic of quality TOD.

February 1 - The Alan Note

If a San Mateo County agency has its way, congestion pricing will be applied to two toll bridges to create additional revenue and reduce congestion as was done successfully on the S.F./Oakland Bay Bridge last July - but there are major differences.

February 1 - San Mateo County Times via Mercury News

That's what Richard Reep proposes in this article looking at reuse options for vacant retail properties from strip malls to megamalls.

February 1 - New Geography

William D. Eggers says the government is giving up the costly infrastructure investments in favor of cloud computing, and the Feds are leading the way.

February 1 - Governing Magazine

A national survey of independent businesses found that those in communities with an active "buy local" campaign experienced significantly stronger revenue growth in 2010 compared to those located in areas without one.

February 1 - New Rules Project

Sarah Goodyear notes that while the internet shutdown in Egypt is getting all the attention, the real activism is happening on the streets of Cairo. City streets are the true gathering places for revolution.

January 31 - Grist

The Oprah Show says San Luis Obispo, California is America's Happiest City, citing urban planning decisions like making the town pedestrian-friendly with wide sidewalks and limiting fast food drive-throughs.

January 31 - Oprah.com

Sharrows are a great way to give cyclists access to the full traffic lane without designating a bike lane, but as this case in San Francisco illustrates, not all applications are good ones. The presence of a bus-only lane created the problem.

January 31 - The Bay Citizen