The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>County officials in Georgia have once again extended their moratorium on residential rezonings as they weigh whether changes will encourage sprawl. The latest extension will stretch the original 90-day moratorium to nearly a year.</p>

September 24 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

<p>Widely-criticized plans to build a $398 million bridge between a remote Alaskan airport and a neighboring island have been formally dropped by the state.</p>

September 24 - The Houston Chronicle

<p>In one of the most congested cities in the world, one entrepreneur is hoping to etch away at the problem with his fledgling bicycle rental business. Currently there are 500 bikes in the system, but the owner has plans for more than 50,000 by 2009.</p>

September 24 - The Christian Science Monitor

<p>An analysis of census data has shown that the shape of the mass migration from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina was largely determined by race.</p>

September 24 - The Indianapolis Star

BLOG POST

<p> The number of farmers’ markets has grown dramatically in the US over the past few years. The number increased by seven percent from 2005-2006 on top of the incredible 79 percent increase from 1994 to 2002. People love the festive atmosphere, the ability to meet the people who grow their food and the connection to the earth this experience provides, and the quality and freshness of the produce. Many patrons value local farmers’ markets as a means of lessening their impact on the earth by allowing them to eat more locally.</p><p> Yet in some places, farmers are abandoning the markets. They cite a number of reasons, including:</p>

September 23 - Lisa Feldstein

<p>Across the country, an emerging trend is seeing existing and older buildings being retrocommissioned as environmentally-friendly structures. Nearly 500 are awaiting LEED certification.</p>

September 23 - Greener Buildings

<p>Centene Corporation will build its new corporate headquarters at mixed-use Ballpark Village development in Downtown St. Louis City instead of Downtown Clayton, a suburb and the region's 'second downtown'</p>

September 23 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

<p>Citing a need for downtown parking, a public official in Stockton, California, has proposed demolishing eight historic hotel buildings to build parking lots.</p>

September 23 - The Record

<p>In six states, test runs will assess public attitudes and acceptance of road taxation systems that ditch gas taxes and charge drivers based on how many miles they drive.</p>

September 23 - USA Today

<p>Seattle planner, architect and journalist Mark Hinshaw's new book, "True Urbanism," explains the theories behind why droves of people are abandoning the suburbs and flocking to dense, diverse urban environments.</p>

September 23 - California Planning & Development Report

<p>Plans to expand the amount of beach available in front of two hotels in Honolulu are meeting opposition from local surfers and environmentalists. But some say the beach has already been engineered beyond its natural state and more won't hurt.</p>

September 23 - Honolulu Star-Bulletin

BLOG POST

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">   Now it’s Jane’s turn.</font></p>

September 22 - Anthony Flint

<p>An Army Corps of Engineers project intended to save a Missouri town from flooding by draining a massive wetland has been identified as an ineffective plan. The Corps and its political supporters are under fire for pushing overly expensive projects.</p>

September 22 - Time

<p>A report on Portland, Oregon, residents' visions for the future of their city has been released. The people say they want the future of their city to be pretty much the same as its present, just slightly better.</p>

September 22 - The Oregonian

<p>Architype Review profiles 8 new and renovated Religious institutions in the words of their design teams.</p>

September 22 - ArchiType Review

<p>Congestion problems are becoming more acute in Chicago, and local planners and policymakers are urging the city to get creative in the way they address the issues.</p>

September 22 - The Chicago Tribune

<p>As Boise looks to a future of growth and expansion, it is hoping to acquire nearly 2,000 acres of unused federal land from the Bureau of Land Management. But a neighboring suburb also wants to claim the land.</p>

September 22 - The Idaho Statesman

<p>For one hour next month, municipal facilities in San Francisco will voluntarily turn out their lights in a citywide effort to cut energy use.</p>

September 22 - ABC

<p>Before its planners had realized what they'd done, a proposed name for a planned streetcar system in Seattle -- the South Lake Union Trolley, or SLUT -- had already slipped out into the public.</p>

September 21 - Nate Berg

<p>The San Francisco County Transportation Authority is working on two applications of congestion pricing for the city's downtown core and on a major road leading to the Golden Gate Bridge.</p>

September 21 - The San Francisco Chronicle