The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

San Jacinto Plaza is the historic heart of El Paso, Texas. City officials are planning a major redevelopment of the plaza, perhaps even expanding its traditional borders and using New York's Bryant Park rebirth as a model.

January 31 - The El Paso Times

Developer FivePoint Communities has cleared hurdles, and the financing flowing again for two major California projects, one on San Francisco's Treasure Island and one at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station near Irvine.

January 31 - Builder Magazine

FEATURE

The Tea Party has it all wrong, writes Joel Mills. Urban planning is not a radical, elitist agenda, but the best example of local democracy available today.

January 31 - Joel Mills

Reporter Leon Neyfakh digs deep into the architectural battle between New Urbanism and Landscape Urbanism, saying it is a war for the future of our built environment.

January 31 - Boston Globe

A real estate report found that there are only four cities in the U.S. where it makes more sense for residents to rent rather than buy. The foreclosure crisis has made it more practical to buy rather than rent in 72% of America's 50 largest cities.

January 31 - San Francisco Examiner

The amount of people commuting in car pools has nearly halved since 1980.

January 31 - The New York Times

In this Q&A, urban planning professor Mitchell Moss explains how budget crises at the federal, state and local levels will affect transit funding in New York City and other places.

January 31 - The Shoshin Project

The mayor of the small town of Lancaster, California, has proposed broadcasting recordings of bird noises along one of the city's main streets to "make people happier".

January 31 - CBS

The Domino Effect is a new documentary film that explores the process of real estate development in New York City to uncover the complex networks of banks, developers, politicians, and non-profit organizations that shape our cities.

January 30 - L Magazine

A recent report shows that fast growing cities had lower incomes and bigger income drops during the recession. Mary Newsom digests the report and delves into what it means for cities looking forward.

January 30 - Citiwire

Seattle has the political momentum behind sustainable urbanism, but it doesn't seem to have a physical neighborhood example of how sustainable urbanism can work, according to this article.

January 30 - Sustainable Industries

The term "smart growth" may be approaching the end of its shelf life, according to some. Its replacement: "intelligent cities".

January 30 - USA Today

Long Island's Nassau County is one of the nation's wealthiest counties, yet its inability to balance its budget (though the county executive claims it's in surplus) is a warning to other counties to get their finances in order before repealing taxes.

January 30 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

Governor Chris Christie announced the state would not repay the $271 million the Federal Transit Administration claims it is owed for the canceled trans-Hudson rail tunnel, reports Jim O'Grady.

January 29 - WNYC

Eric Jaffe pushes back on the Republican Study Committee's proposal to cut over $6 billion in rail funding over the next ten years.

January 29 - The Infrastructurist

James Griffioen debunks the myth that his hometown is in want of grocery stores.

January 29 - Urbanophile

Joel Kotkin argues that planners too often ignore "the most critical issue" in housing.

January 29 - Forbes

Do you know the difference between taxis and livery cars? This op-ed by a taxi driver/author explains the difference. It is timely because Mayor Bloomberg will propose a rule that will make the two more similar, and (yellow) cab drivers oppose it.

January 29 - The New York Times - Opinion

Portlandia is a new TV show spoofing the self-righteously urban culture of Portland. In this clip, a hyper bicycle rights activist zips around the city decrying the evils of automobiles.

January 28 - My Damn Channel

At the subway stop at Wilshire Blvd. and Vermont, developer Jerry Snyder halted construction on his planned vertical retail mall, saying that the apartment market is comparatively "very strong."

January 28 - The Los Angeles Times