The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

This column from <em>MinnPost</em> praises the year-old Downtown Improvement District in Minneapolis for helping to revive the city's downtown core and give people a reason to walk.

August 12 - MinnPost

Investments in rail systems in cities across America are pulling crucial funding away from better-used bus systems, according to this column from Joel Kotkin. He blames the "density lobby".

August 12 - Forbes

Decommissioned farms and fields in California are being scouted as possible sited for renewable energy production.

August 12 - The New York Times

In Westminster, Colorado, the city's economic development department is attempting to have the Westminster Mall blighted and thus up for seizing through eminent domain.

August 12 - Retail Traffic Magazine

Sam Jacob reads the latest Sex and the City movie as a thesis on New York City's urban design. It's not as far-fetched as you may think.

August 11 - iconeye

Major engineering firm PBSJ is in talks with Atkins to be acquired by the London-based firm. PBSJ, which is employee-owned, reportedly sought out the sale to bring in more capital for expansion.

August 11 - TOLLROADSnews

In the aftermath of the BP Gulf cleanup, tons of toxic oil waste are being sent to municipal landfills near communities with majority low-income and people of color populations.

August 11 - Buzz Flash

In this op-ed for the Globe and Mail, four leading Canadian scholars argue that the Harper government's unilateral decision to scrap the long form census should be put to a vote in the House of Commons.

August 11 - The Globe and Mail

A U.S. ambassador is proposing a novel approach to helping Afghanistan -- since opium crops are rampant, why not find a way to turn poppies into biofuel?

August 11 - ASLA's The Dirt blog

Explaining the mechanics of market-based parking can be pretty dry, if not outright wonkish. SF Park livens up the topic with (bike) bells, horns and cute, animated graphics in a new video.

August 11 - SF Streetsblog

Studies show that traffic-calming measures and bike lanes increase the number of cyclists on the street and decrease the risk of collisions.

August 11 - Montreal Gazette

San Francisco Chronicle architecture critic John King returns from a trip to New York with a look at several lessons that the City-by-the-Bay could (gasp!) learn from Manhattan.

August 11 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Redeveloping the slums of Rio de Janeiro has been on the city's agenda for decades. Despite the many challenges, some new efforts seem to be paying off.

August 11 - People's Daily

Public Servant Blog dares to compile a completely subjective list of the Top 20 Urban Planning Successes of All Time, with selections ranging from the obvious (Amsterdam) to the less so (Marimont, Ohio). See if you agree.

August 10 - Public Servant Blog

New York City's transit system is suffering from a serious lack of funding. Reporter Jake Mooney looks at the reasons, including a lack of tax income from real estate and a political unwillingness to change how MTA is funded.

August 10 - City Limits

With some construction projects behind schedule, municipal governments are asking the Harper government to extend their "spend-it-or-lose-it" deadline of March 31 2011.

August 10 - Winnipeg Free Press

<em>Toronto Star</em> architecture critic Christopher Hume blasts the city's lackluster bicycle planning efforts, calling them disjointed.

August 10 - The Toronto Star

Dutch conservationists are proposing to create a floating community built on top of the patch of garbage swirling out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

August 10 - Guardian

Chinese cities are destroying their architectural heritage as they rush to urbanize, according to Shan Jixiang, head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

August 10 - China Daily

Urban agriculture is not a new idea. <em>Grist</em>'s Tom Philpott says the renewed interest in the idea should look for good ideas from its past.

August 10 - Grist