The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

In a controversial move, new Florida Governor Rick Scott has appointed Billy Buzzett, vice-president at a development company, to lead the state's Department of Community Affairs.

January 8 - The St. Petersburg Times

Critic Inga Saffron says that the interesting architecture and urban design is happening on the small scale: small parks, small houses and small plans.

January 8 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Advertising Age Magazine singled out "sustainability" as one of the most overused and misused words of the year.

January 7 - Triple Pundit

California's high-speed rail project is in fact going to be built despite the state's looming budget crisis, but many are beginning to question what kind of impact the project will have if the right development around train stations is not met.

January 7 - The Bay Citizen

As San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom prepares to leave for Sacramento to become Lt. Governor, he praises the latest road diet plan - reducing busy Cesar Chavez St. from 6-4 lanes with landscaped median and bike lanes and views it as part of his legacy

January 7 - San Francisco Chronicle

It's not just the High Speed Rail project making news these days in California. The three 79 mph, state-subsidized inter-city lines: Capitol Corridor, San Joaquin, and Pacific Surfliner (nation's second busiest), all registered riderships gains.

January 7 - San Francisco Chronicle

Julio César Pérez is a Cuban architect and urban planner. An art gallery is showing examples of his work, a perfect occasion to reflect back on what matters in architecture and planning, and lay out his vision for the future of Cuba.

January 7 - Cuban Art News

The cities that often top the "most livable" lists like San Francisco, Portland, Boston and D.C. also happen to have the lowest percentage of households with children. Does that mean that kids make places un-livable?

January 7 - Conservative Planner Blog

A panel of "frequent fliers" chooses the best cities to have a business meeting, a convention, and all-around business friendliness.

January 7 - The Globe and Mail

In this op-ed, Daniel Shoer Roth says that fast roads are still the be-all and end-all of transportation planning in South Florida.

January 7 - The Miami Herald

By charging drivers for each mile they travel, rather than a fixed amount, pay-as-you-drive insurance could cut driving by eight percent nationally, or more than eleven percent in New York State, says a Brookings Institution report.

January 7 - Streetsblog

Jonna McKone of TheCityFix looks at Copenhagen's recently added rail cars that are specifically for bicyclists and other passengers with special needs.

January 7 - TheCityFix

Reporter Jarrett Murphy gets behind the curtain to reveal that the Obama administration is actually doing quite a lot for cities - just very, very quietly.

January 6 - City Limits

Eli Broad, a powerful force in the Los Angeles art world, today unveils the design for a $130 million building that will house his personal contemporary art collection. Broad hopes it will help be part of a revitalization of downtown L.A.

January 6 - The Los Angeles Times

California Governor Jerry Brown is settling into his new office by taking on one of the state's most controversial laws: the property tax increase limits enforced by Proposition 13.

January 6 - Los Angeles Times

This video from the <em>BBC</em> takes a tour of a new winter festival in China in which a city of sculptures has been created out of ice.

January 6 - BBC

<em>Alternet</em> runs down a list of the five best policies enacted by cities in 2010.

January 6 - AlterNet

In his annual state-of-the-city speech, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker highlighted what he sees as his most important accomplishment: a streetcar.

January 6 - Deseret News

The U.S. Census Bureau has released a new set of formulae that dramatically change the way poverty is determined in the U.S., leaving behind the one-size-fits-all approach in use since the 1960s.

January 6 - The Washington Post

In California, some worry that the state's aging delta levees are in extreme danger of being destroyed by earthquakes. And as environmental concerns rise, the state is considering plans to re-engineer its water supplies to prevent another "Katrina".

January 6 - Miller-McCune