The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A group of green architects in Philadelphia are creating new ways to use pre-fabricated elements, using digital design to distance them from the prefab of yore.

January 19 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

America's transportation system is in trouble, according to many experts. But action at the congressional level doesn't seem to recognize the importance of the problem, writes Neal Peirce.

January 19 - Citiwire

The difference between success and failure in the U.K. has gotten worse with the recession, with ailing cities getting worse and successful cities are coming out even stronger.

January 19 - Public Finance

This infographic from <em>GOOD</em> looks at how city departments can use technology to better share data, and improve communication with citizens and streamline city services.

January 19 - Good

A key committee has recommended a novel approach to distributing revenue from a forthcoming cap & trade scheme, the key strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the CA Air Resources Board in order to meet the reductions mandated in AB 32.

January 19 - The New York Times - Environment

BLOG POST

<!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana">More than two years years ago I chronicled my <a href="/node/26876">daily bicycle commute in Miami</a>. The 8-mile trip was as representative of Miami&#39;s built and socio-cultural landscape as it was harrowing. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana">While that city has surely made progress in the pas two years, I&#39;d be lying if I didn&#39;t disclose that I partially moved to New York City because of the progress being made in designing livable streets infrastructure. Quite simply, it feels good to be in a city that &quot;gets it.&quot; </span></p>

January 18 - Mike Lydon

Railway Age advances the notion that private transit is simply not feasible in the U.S. due to economic fluctuations, as shown by the declaration of bankruptcy of the not-for-profit Las Vegas Monorail Company.

January 18 - RailwayAge

With Haiti's capital city in ruins, and emergency response still underway, rebuilding efforts are a ways off. But the rebuilding following recent disasters may provide guidance, writes Mark MacKinnon.

January 18 - Globe and Mail

An interdisciplinary team of urban designers, architects, and analysts have proposed a neo-retro-futurist scenario for making downtown Portland nearly car-free by 2050.

January 18 - Hugeasscity

That's what a consultant told Robert L. Hubbard, city director of planning and community development of Gardner, Massachussetts, about the city's infrastructure. Gardner intends to build on those bones with an urban renewal plan.

January 18 - Worcester Telegram & Gazette

In this paper, Gustavo Rivera Jr. (Ph. D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago) evaluates the economic and sociocultural impact of recently developed public housing estates within the favelas of Belo Horizonte.

January 18 - The Urban Reinventors Online Urban Journal

FEATURE

Recent earthquake response efforts in Haiti showed how comparing satellite imagery could help to identify physical changes in the damaged country and assist rescue workers. That same sort of imagery could play a similar role for urban planners.

January 18 - Nate Berg

NYC would certainly not be the first, but the Henry Hudson Bridge would be one of the most significant bridges to go to all-electronic fare collection. No E-ZPass? No worry - your license will be photographed and you'll get the bill in the mail.

January 18 - The New York Times - N.Y./Region

This piece from <em>Urban Omnibus</em> looks at ideas to counteract global warming by adding more trees to urban areas.

January 18 - Urban Omnibus

Cities across the country are experimenting with free "shuttles" that circulate people through top destinations and have a unique brand to take away the stigma of riding the bus.

January 18 - the transport politic

BLOG POST

<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small; font-family: Calibri">Last week I attended the </span><a href="http://www.trb.org/AnnualMeeting2010/Public/AnnualMeeting2010.aspx"><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Calibri">Transportation Research Boards (TRB)</span></a><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Calibri"> 89th annual meeting, which attracted approximately 10,000 transportation professionals from around the globe to Washington DC. More than 2,000 papers were presented at more than 700 sessions, plus several hundred committee meetings took place. Let me share some highlights.</span> </p>

January 18 - Todd Litman

Spain has rapidly developed high speed rail system, leaving many U.S. politicians -- including President Obama -- wondering how the U.S. can catch up. This article and video from <em>PBS</em> looks at the Spanish model.

January 18 - PBS

Thursday, the switch was flipped on a generator that will serve the heating needs of 16,000 residents of the Olympic Village in Vancouver. The generator transforms sewage into heat.

January 18 - The Vancouver Sun

The United States has a long history of planning at the national level. This article from Professor Robert Fishman details that history, and looks at how national planning may play out over the next 100 years.

January 17 - PBS

A temporary urban garden has been erected in Shenzhen, China by a group of artists. The garden represents the amount of agricultural land is necessary to feed all 4.5 million of the city's residents.

January 17 - Inhabitat