The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Nicolai Ouroussoff, architecture critic for <em>The New York Times</em>, offers this lengthy look at the state of development and design in Abu Dhabi and Doha.

November 30 - The New York Times

Architect Peter Weingarten discusses the importance of high-rise buildings, and why the future of cities will be very high density.

November 30 - Gensler on Cities

The fate of a proposed high speed rail corridor between Chicago and Milwaukee remains uncertain, but if plans do go ahead, Madison may be left out.

November 30 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

With a collective population of more than 10 million, Kenya's slums face major sanitation issues. A new project offers a sustainable solution.

November 30 - Gizmag

BLOG POST

<p>It is often - and very inaccurately - said that people hate change.  When people get married - they are overjoyed.  When they hold the winning lottery ticket, or have children or get a raise or a promotion or a new car, they are thrilled.  These are forms of change that illustrate the point that change is not what people hate; what people have trouble with is certain forms of change.  This becomes especially relevant to planners and designers and community developers who are part of processes - shaping, facilitating, leading, participating in, or otherwise advocating for one form of change or another.</p>

November 30 - Charles Buki

Atlanta's $72 million streetcar plan is taking shape, with lines expected to open in 2013. But not everyone in the city thinks the project is worth the cost.

November 30 - Los Angeles Times

Warren Karlenzig is back from two recent visits to China, and says the Chinese government is preparing to release a hugely ambitious agenda for getting greener.

November 29 - Green Flow

Bike-sharing can't seem to shake its reputation for being a crime magnet, as in Paris. But here in the United States, theft and vandalism simply haven't emerged as problems, says Noah Kazis.

November 29 - Streetsblog

As urban sprawl continues to encroach on what was once expansive habitat for mountain lions, the large predators have been involved in more encounters with humans in urban settings.

November 29 - The San Francisco Chronicle

As Seattle prepares to undertake several major construction projects, the city should embrace and explore its buried archaeological past as a means to involve community members and spark interest in local history, argues Knute Berger.

November 29 - Crosscut

FEATURE

November 29 - Mary Campbell Gallagher

The New Yorker takes an informal survey of the Lower East Side with slow-driving proponent Rod King.

November 29 - The New Yorker

NPR reports on the impressive growth - a tripling, even - of bicycling in the United States, with a particular focus on commuting.

November 29 - NPR

Do they work? That's the question as state officials investigate New Jersey's Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) program.

November 29 - The Record

Could sand be the next great paving material? Thomas Kosbau and Andrew Wetzler recently won a design competition in Korea with their idea to combine sand with a bacteria that turns sand to stone.

November 29 - Next100

A proposal for a skyscraper that grows biodiesel-emitting algae took 2nd place in a competition to design the 300m tall Taiwan Tower in Taichung.

November 29 - Dezeen

Randal O'Toole argues that transit will never be energy efficient because ridership is never high enough to warrant the energy expelled.

November 29 - The Antiplanner

As landscape urbanists hover in the exalted world of the designer-hero-genius, Emily Talen asks — where are the people?

November 28 - New Urban Network

With malls failing around the country, America may want to consider innovative new projects from international sites like Morocco or the Philippines.

November 28 - Retail Traffic Magazine

When an Apple Store wanted to move into the Georgetown neighborhood in D.C., the Design Review Board pushed for a more fitting facade. After a backlash from residents eager for an Apple, the trademark building went in. Is Georgetown better off?

November 28 - Planning Commissioners Journal