The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Edward L. Glaeser says that historic preservation is preserving countless undeserving structures in New York, which is keeping new buildings and affordable housing from getting built.

April 26 - City Journal

FEATURE

Architect and urban innovator Andrés Duany has a new bone of contention: the usurping of the planning process by the public during the approval stage for new projects. Managing Editor Tim Halbur reports from Cambridge, Massachusetts.

April 26 - Tim Halbur

Described as being the biggest corruption scandal in Israel's history, the Holyland Park scandal highlights the need for tighter regulation of land use planning in Israel. But with the Prime Minister's support for deregulation, reform looks unlikely.

April 26 - Treehugger

BLOG POST

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <![endif]-->Does the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) decision to tear down<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/nyregion/06demolish.html"> Prospect Plaza</a>, a high rise development in Brownsville Brooklyn, portend the demise of public housing in New York City as we know it?

April 25 - Lance Freeman

Fast Company released their annual "Fast Cities" issue, featuring 12 cities the editors believe are taking innovative approaches. Savannah, Georgia was chosen for its Neighborhood Renaissance Savannah program, which cleans up abandoned homes.

April 25 - Fast Company

In China, an estimated 120 million electric bicycles are on the streets. So why haven't they caught on in the U.S.? Reporter Alan Durning thinks its time.

April 25 - WorldChanging

The Regional Plan Association recently held their Annual Regional Assembly, focused this year on technology and innovation. Thomas K. Wright of the RPA talks about some of the smart ideas that came out of the assembly.

April 25 - Citiwire.net

The City of Paris is looking to update the historic Place de la Republique, and is running a closed competition to find the right design. Barcelona-based Mateo Arquitectura gives us a glimpse at their ideas for the space.

April 25 - ArchiCentral

Roger K. Lewis of The Washington Post paints a reassuring picture for suburban homeowners frightened of smart growth. Home values will go up, and you'll be able to walk to get a cup of coffee, says Lewis.

April 25 - The Washington Post

Only 16 of 384 metropolitan areas saw job increases over the last year, according to a new study.

April 24 - MSNBC

Graphic designer Jay Shells has created a set of 10 official-looking posters suggesting better etiquette in the New York City subway. Suggestions include not wiping barbecue sauce on pole and not clipping your fingernails on the train.

April 24 - Animal New York

BLOG POST

<p> These days, I have more in common with my nephew Sam than just about anyone else. He just turned 3. </p> <p> Sam is a train fanatic. Sure, he loves the children’s classics—Thomas the Tank Engine, the Polar Express—but he can also tell you about the Eurostar and the Shinkansen. His recent first ride on Amtrak was like his locomotive bar mitzvah: <em>Today, I am a passenger.</em> </p> <p> I’ve spent all semester working on a studio project making the case for true high-speed rail in the Northeast megaregion. I picked the studio because, like Sam, I’m thrilled by trains, but an added perk is that every time I come with some new picture or factoid about the big, fast choo-choos, I move up a notch in the running for Uncle of the Year. </p>

April 24 - Jeffrey Barg

Mayor Byron Brown announced that the city's new code will be the "Buffalo Green Code," supporting walkable, sustainable neighborhoods.

April 24 - Buffalo Rising

This post from <em>The New Republic</em> explains how the federal budget includes plans to upgrade some of the varied parts that track statistics in the country.

April 24 - The New Republic

Riders of San Francisco's Muni bus system often complain that the buses stop too much. Now, evidence is building that simply consolidating bus stops will help to make the buses run faster and more reliably.

April 24 - Streetfilms

BLOG POST

<p> I&#39;m writing from Cambridge, where the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Harvard Graduate School of Design are hosting their annual shindig for a small crew of journalists crazy enough to have urban issues as their beat. </p>

April 23 - Tim Halbur

Christopher Hawthorne remarks that Brasilia had an optimism that is remarkably different from today's new cities that are striving towards sustainability and preparing for eco-disasters.

April 23 - The Los Angeles Times

Winnipeg has been debating -- and studying-- rapid transit for decades. With the first leg of a BRT system finally under construction, critics are questioning the mayor's decision to fund yet another study on LRT.

April 23 - The Winnipeg Free Press

A hotel in Copenhagen offers $40 meal vouchers for anyone who produces 10 watt hours of electricity using their wired-up stationery bicycles.

April 23 - Next100 (PG&E blog)

The Wall St. Journal reports on a growing trend for wineries to set up show in cities, trucking their grapes to warehouse "cellars" to be closer to the people.

April 23 - The Wall St. Journal