The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Technology Brings Remote Town a Little Closer

Ten Sleep, Wyoming is home to a booming new company that teaches English online to students in Korea. The town of 350 people is a testament to how the reaches of broadband connectivity allows high-tech business to flourish even in remote areas.

November 26 - Forbes

New Yorkers Still Oppose Park Redesign Already Underway

Plans to redesign New York City's Washington Square Park have been hotly protested by community members since their inception. The work is already underway, but the opposition sentiment remains.

November 26 - The New York Times

The Cautionary Tale of Vallejo

Vallejo, CA declared bankruptcy last spring, felled by fiscal mismanagement and falling property taxes. Cities around the country are looking to Vallejo's example as they teeter near the edge.

November 26 - Governing Magazine

Greening New York From the Street Up

This article from <em>The American Prospect</em> profiles New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and examines her influence on the city's green agenda.

November 26 - The American Prospect

FEATURE

Community-Based Progress in Post-Katrina New Orleans

The grieving period has ended, and now resilient New Orleaneans are taking it upon themselves to rebuild their beloved city. Though it's sure to be a slow process, this could very well be community organization at its best.

November 26 - Roberta Brandes Gratz


A Shrinking City is Not a Failed City

Once New Orleans comes to terms with the fact that it is a shrinking city, the city's culture and geographic location can help bring it back.

November 25 - The Times-Picayune

Behold, the Square Traffic Light

Want to give your city a unique look? Try these new square traffic lights.

November 25 - Art Lebedev Studio


Financing Solar Power

Berkeley, CA was one of the first cities to use special utility districts to fund the switch to solar power in their community. Now the man behind the plan is trying to make the financing system national.

November 25 - East Bay Express

Public Lands Under an Obama Administration

Environmentalists and resources extracting industries alike are scrutinizing President-Elect Obama's election comments for indications of what his administration's public lands policies will be like.

November 25 - McClatchey Newspapers

San Francisco Weighs Congestion Pricing Options

Officials in San Francisco will be presented with reports today on possible ways to integrate congestion pricing and toll zones into the city. If approved, San Francisco would be the first city in the nation to implement congestion pricing.

November 25 - San Francisco Chronicle

2009 City Crime Rankings Released

CQ Press has released its annual list of cities with the best and worst crime rates. Groups from the U.S. Conference of Mayors to the FBI decry the list for being simplistic, but CQ defends its data.

November 25 - CNN

Fantastic Gallery of Green Urban Futures

The Web Urbanist has compiled a gallery of fantastic designs for more sustainable urbanism.

November 25 - Web Urbanist

Worse Times Ahead for Housing

Latest figures are indicating that as many as 4 in 10 mortgage holders in America could soon be "underwater," with the potential for millions to simply walk away.

November 25 - McClatchey Newspapers

Save Detroit - Raise The Gas Tax

Fortune Magazine's Martin Sloan is interviewed on Marketplace on why he thinks it would be good for Detroit, and America, to have a higher gas tax. At the same time, he has advice to Congress as to what they should do with fuel-efficiency standards.

November 25 - Marketplace Morning Report

Senior Housing Options Decline Amidst Housing & Financial Crises

Unable to sell their homes, thousands of aging seniors throughout the U.S. who would have moved to assisted or independent living or retirement communities are staying put - in homes they would love to leave but are financially tied to.

November 25 - The New York Times

BLOG POST

Push Back in the Community Development Field

<p> Locality: &quot;We have distressed neighborhoods&quot; </p> <p> Conventional Thinking: &quot;We have housing dollars&quot; </p> <p> Locality: &quot;But we have distressed neighborhoods&quot; </p> <p> Conventional Thinking: &quot;But we have housing dollars&quot; </p> <p> Locality: &quot;So?&quot; </p> <p> Conventional Thinking: &quot;You can run organizations with these dollars and keep at it forever&quot; </p> <p> Locality: &quot;So problems don&#39;t actually have to be solved?&quot; </p> <p> Conventional Thinking: &quot;Correct&quot; <br /> </p>

November 24 - Charles Buki

Architects Trying Too Hard

Witold Rybczynski says that architects are trying too hard to build buildings that are attention-getting rather than going for timeless designs.

November 24 - Wall St. Journal

Greening Cement

A growing number of local governments are turning to "green cement" resolutions to rectify North Texas' status as a shameless failure when it comes to complying with clean air standards.

November 24 - The Dallas Observer

'Natural' Vs. Corporate Cultural Districts

Cooltown Studios looks at what makes a shiny new corporate district different from an organically-grown one.

November 24 - CoolTown Studios

Des Moines Sees Home Prices Rise

Des Moines, IA is one of 28 metropolitan areas that have seen home prices go up in the third quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors.

November 24 - The Des Moines Register

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