The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Melissa Lafsky asks if citizen initiative facilities like '311' and 'fixmystreet' should be expanded into an "operating system" for cities.

July 9 - The Infrastructurist

The Project for Public Spaces has begun to publicize improvements it has made to main streets across the country with a new web feature, reports Kaid Benfield.

July 9 - Sustainable Cities Collective

Fast Company reports on a branding company that is working to get biking out of the "hipster ghetto" and into the mainstream.

July 9 - Fast Company

The relationship between agriculture and cities is becoming increasingly important. Daniel Nairn suggests building "garden blocks" within cities to meet community food needs.

July 9 - Grist

New York City is updating their Uniform Land Use Review Process. Tom Agnotti says there is a lot that is broken and needs fixing.

July 9 - The Gotham Gazette

In a move to cement its importance as an urban waterway, the EPA declared the Los Angeles River a 'traditionally navigable waterway.'

July 9 - The Los Angeles Times

Oakland, California recently closed off two miles of city street to cars, creating a Bogota-inspired ciclovia, dubbed 'Oaklavia'.

July 9 - Streetsblog

The manufacturing industry is rapidly growing in Brooklyn. But unlike the black smokestacks of the past, this new industrial revolution is both green and high-tech.

July 9 - Metropolis

Rome, a city steeped in history, is struggling to retain and protect its historical identity as the city modernizes and expands.

July 9 - The New York Times

Renata Simril, regional VP for national developer Forest City, describes the financing and policy mechanisms she sees as necessary to bring TOD to cities.

July 8 - The Planning Report

New York's historically Italian Little Italy is steadily being transformed by its growing Mexican population.

July 8 - The New York Times

<em>The New York Times</em> calculates the cost difference between living in a single family house versus an apartment in the New York area.

July 8 - The New York Times

Adam Greenfield looks at issue tracking systems for cities, and suggests that they can be taken a step farther by adding unique identifiers to urban infrastructure that automatically notifies city systems when problems arise.

July 8 - Urban Omnibus

FEATURE

Whitehouse.gov held a live online event on July 15th at 2pm EDT/11am PDT on sustainable communities. All of the questions were submitted and chosen by Planetizen readers.

July 8 - Tim Halbur

Munich returns to the top of Monocle's most liveable cities for 2010. According to Monocle, Munich is a place where "wealth and prosperity are reinvested in transport, infrastructure and environmental initiatives."

July 8 - Monocle Magazine

In this 4:32 minute video in a bike store, Gov. Quinn expresses his enthusiasm for cycling after signing a bill intended to make Illinois the safest state to bicycle. Motorists take heed - expect to be ticketed for driving too close to a cyclist.

July 8 - The State of Illinois Press Release

Small movie theaters, long thought dead, are having a comeback as vital centers in small towns across the country.

July 8 - The Infrastructurist

The High Line park in New York has been an enormous success, attracting 2 million visitors so far. Tom Topousis got to take a tour of the 2nd section of the park under construction, stretching from 20th to 30th Sts.

July 8 - The New York Post

A new joint powers authority comprised of cities and county supervisorial districts will help planning efforts in the San Fernando Valley--a sub-region often lost in the shuffle of the sprawling Los Angeles metropolis.

July 8 - The Planning Report

Many things came together for light rail to come to Charlotte, starting in 1996. Key was perseverance by a conservative mayor, a volunteer group that started a historic trolley, voters who supported a sales tax, and experienced transit professionals

July 8 - Grist: Cities of the Future