The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Typically thought of as a war to protect small businesses in communities from being swallowed up by a giant, the local opposition to Wal-Mart stores is often funded secretly by other major grocery chains.

June 9 - The Wall Street Journal

Residents in Santa Clara, California have approved a measure that would direct $937 million in funding towards the creation of a stadium intended to lure the San Francisco 49ers football team.

June 9 - Sa Francisco Chronicle

A controversial plan being pushed by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to ban sitting or laying on public sidewalks during certain hours of the day has been voted down by supervisors.

June 9 - San Francisco Chronicle

Artist Natalie Jeremijenko's farming pods could be perched atop skylines in the future as a sustainable method of rooftop farming. They will grow fruits and vegetables in hydroponic chambers, allowing sunlight through a clear plastic skin.

June 9 - Fast Company

A new documentary about the architect and planner Daniel Burnham - naturally called 'Make No Little Plans' - arrives in theaters this week.

June 9 - The Archimedia Workshop

A varied involvement in architecture, landscaping, planning and product design has allowed the practice of Rios, Clementi, Hale to weather the recession. The designers describe to Marissa Gluck how they have navigated a path through divergent fields.

June 9 - The Architects Newspaper

As Shanghai aims to bring people together through spectacle, Edwin Heathcote examines the concept behind the festival and questions its relevancy.

June 9 - Financial Times

Michael Lind of the New America Foundation thinks that plans for high-speed rail and renewable energy are expensive fantasies that liberals need to give up on as soon as possible.

June 9 - Salon.com

<em>The Infrastructurist</em> points to this infographic that outlines the expenditures and infrastructure projects that were built to accommodate the World Cup, beginning this Friday in South Africa.

June 9 - Infrastructurist

The Olinger Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado is trying to lighten up what is typically a somber setting by scheduling concerts and other cultural events at the graveyard.

June 9 - The Denver Post

The Egyptian capital is planning a makeover, turning the downtown into a pedestrian-only zone in the spirit of Europe's historic cities in order to attract tourism.

June 8 - Egypt Today

Grist's Jonathan Hiskes spoke with smart growth leaders to devise strategies that municipalities, as opposed to U.S. government, can take to lessen oil dependency - that are financially sustainable, not overly dependent on technology, and ready to go

June 8 - Grist

Timed to open near the start of the country's World Cup, the new Gautrain high speed rail system has launched in Johannesburg.

June 8 - BBC

Federal transportation funding is in serious trouble in the U.S., but that doesn't mean the work has to stop, according to Mark Muro and Robert Puentes.

June 8 - Citiwire

The 2012 Summer Olympics have been promised by organizers to be the greenest Olympics in the event's history. But can they live up to that standard?

June 8 - Fast Company

Seeing a marked decline in the amount of bookstores in the traditional cultural center of Paris, the city began a program to actively lure them back.

June 8 - Guardian

More changes are coming to Manhattan as auto-space yields to bus-space on First and Second Aves. Will transit users comply with the honor system as boarding will take place from all three doors? The lanes will be 'terra-cotta brown' without barrier.

June 8 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

340KM above your head, the first human dwelling beyond Earth's surface has just been completed. Last week, a space shuttle launched on May 14 added the final building block to the $125 billion International Space Station.

June 8 - Building Design

Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute proposes renovating city parking lots into actual parks would go a long way to improving the air quality of cities.

June 8 - AutoBlogGreen

Hipsters and yuppies are the only people doing urban gardening, right? Grist says no, and gives examples of diversity in Denver throughout the community gardens there.

June 8 - Grist