The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

During the 17 days of the Winter Olympics, Vancouver significantly beefed up its transit offerings and reduced lanes for automobiles. Did the experiment work, and what would happen if these temporary changes were made permanent?

April 6 - re:place Magazine

Portland has them. So does Charlotte. But in the nation's capital, streetcar overhead wires are under fire from historic preservationists.

April 6 - Washington Post

The recent World Urban Forum in Brazil attracted media from around the world, but surprisingly few from the U.S. But as Neal Peirce writes, that doesn't mean the U.S. government wasn't involved.

April 6 - Citiwire

Thomas L. Millette looks back at how far GIS has come, and how it has become an essential tool for urban planning.

April 6 - Planning Commissioners Journal

This op-ed from <em>The Detroit Free Press</em> looks at ambitious goals for the city ten years into the future, and argues that citizens will need to start acting soon to turn those dreams into reality.

April 6 - The Detroit Free Press

For electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to really take off, there needs to be a coordinated effort between planners, developers and the utilities to ensure the infrastructure is in place. Some Canadian cities are already taking action.

April 6 - The Globe and Mail

Thanks in part to federal grants, wheelchair-accessible taxi service is available in most major American cities - San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., but not in Philadelphia, where the issue is stalled in the statehouse.

April 6 - Philadelphia Daily News

Nearly five years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the bungled recovery effort offers lessons to Haiti and Chile as they recover from more recent natural disasters, according to this piece from Allison Arieff.

April 6 - The New York Times

AARP takes a comprehensive looks at streetcars, exploring their past demise, comeback, and now spreading to as many as 40 cities. Special attention is given to the Portland Streetcar and how the streetcar enables better mobility for seniors.

April 6 - AARP Bulletin Today

BLOG POST

<p> When I inherited the Hoboken Parking Utility last year, it was hobbling along with all of the forward planning of a Friday night Rock-and-Bowl last call.  With no time to build a new budget from the bottom up, I was left to remold what I found into something a little less status-quo and a little more innovative.  In a scrutinizing political climate and tough economic conditions, the changes had to be both necessary and serve as an example of ways to reduce costs. </p>

April 6 - Ian Sacs

Witold Rybczynski says that people have lost their faith in city-driven urban planning, and that the private marketplace is driving the changes we need today.

April 5 - Slate

In Los Angeles, wheat-pasted posters that indicate bike lanes have been cropping up on utility boxes all over the city.

April 5 - GOOD Magazine

A scandal over bonuses and the recession leads to change in project to redevelop Southeast San Diego, but some critics want to see more construction, not just kumbaya.

April 5 - San Diego Union Tribune

When two polls on transportation policy come to conflicting conclusions, reporter Lisa Caruso wonders what the value is of surveying the public on policy matters.

April 5 - National Journal Online

After Katrina, the entire city of New Orleans had an opinion on how planning should move forward. With many groups intervening and making recommendations, is there too much planning going on?

April 5 - The Design Observer

North Texas Tollway (NTTA) has announced their intention to go all electronic for their toll roads by the end of the year, and Florida will soon follow.

April 5 - TOLLROADSnews

BLOG POST

<p> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt">The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and Paralympics are over now. City Planner <a href="/user/10088"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none">Brent Toderian</span></a> described in a recent Planetizen blog how the event showcased <a href="/node/43096">Vancouver’s Urbanism</a>, including the quality of its neighborhoods, streets and public transit system, and the delight of a shared community experience.</span> </p> <p> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt"><img src="http://www.daily-jeff.com/images/media/20100213/photos/d505f58a8fe6bcfb05fe5c41c92152dd9d647e8b_oly2.jpg" width="358" height="212" /></span> </p>

April 5 - Todd Litman

Normally fuel economy standards are set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Due to the 2007 Supreme Court ruling on the Clean Air Act, the new rules are jointly issued by the EPA to regulate tailpipe emissions as well as CAFE.

April 5 - Union Of Concerned Scientists

Mycologist Paul Stamets believes that mycelium, a fungi, could be integral to restoring damaged soil, repairing habitats, and even cleaning brownfields.

April 5 - Design Under Sky

Texas' strict banking regulation may be partially responsible for its economic health.

April 5 - The Big Money