The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>This article looks at how the once unimaginable concept of paying for road use is gaining ground amongst politicians.</p>

August 6 - Sustainable Industries

<p>Cob houses -- some of which have lasted half a millennium in Europe -- are gaining interest among homeowners looking for a sustainable, inexpensive, and long-lasting structure.</p>

August 6 - The Globe & Mail

<p>Contemporary architecture needs to reacquaint itself with the creation of beautiful and people-friendly spaces, argues columnist E. Thomas McClanahan.</p>

August 6 - The Kansas City Star

<p>With the era of easy financing over, buyers should seek out smaller, more affordable homes.</p>

August 6 - The Washington Post

<p>With ridership on the only commercially operating maglev line far below expectations, the much admired technology might be in danger of extinction.</p>

August 6 - International Herald Tribune

<p>Nestled in the world famous Napa Valley, the City of Napa, California, is undergoing a rapid transformation from an affordable industrial town into an increasingly upscale community.</p>

August 6 - The New York Times

<p>While diversity has usually been trumpeted as a positive aspect of many urban areas -- new research by Harvard professor Robert Putnam suggests that increasing diversity leads to decreased levels of civic engagement and cooperation.</p>

August 6 - The Boston Globe

<p>Even when lower-income households are lucky enough to find an affordable home to purchase, high association fees can put a damper on their initial good fortune.</p>

August 6 - The San Francisco Chronicle

<p>Voters in San Francisco will have to choose between two ballot measures -- one increasing parking in the city, the other funding more transit -- during this fall's election.</p>

August 6 - The San Francisco Chronicle

<p>Immigration has become a hot spot in the presidential primaries, with immigrants being blamed for crime and consuming vital social services. Now a Harvard study has analyzed how they have affected, and will affect, the for-sale housing market.</p>

August 6 - AP vis San Francisco Examiner

<p>Cleveland and its suburbs are trying to remove some of the regional competition between cities by sharing revenues and resources.</p>

August 5 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer

<p>In sun-drenched Arizona, researchers are working on developing new types of pavement that can counter the warming effect of urban heat islands.</p>

August 5 - The Arizona Republic

BLOG POST

<p>Whether kissed by trade winds in Hawaii, home to dozens of unique cultures in the Caribbean, or scoured by Nor’easter’s off the coast of Maine, islands are magnetic to burnt-out urbanites but tend to be tough places for natives. <br /><br />I was a guest not long ago of <a href="http://www.menis.es/flash_engl.swf" target="_blank">Fernando Menis</a>, an architect who has built an international reputation from Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. It’s not easy to be true to a unique place – as he aspires to be – when what works locally doesn’t always “translate” in the globalized and image-driven world of architecture. <br />

August 5 - James S. Russell

<p>Small towns hungry for economic stimulus have found a willing suitor in the Internet giant, though some accuse Google of using the promise of jobs to win unfair concessions.</p>

August 5 - The Dalles Chronicle

<p>The Dharavi neighborhood of Mumbai -- home to 600,000 residents -- is set to be razed and rebuilt under a massive redevelopment scheme.</p>

August 5 - The Independent

<p>A recent poll shows the majority of Americans think the use of surveillance cameras in public spaces are a good idea.</p>

August 5 - Angus Reid Global Monitor

<p>The proposed 61-mile system connection -- which will provide an alternative to commuters on the congested Interstate 4 corridor -- has been given the green light by local officials.</p>

August 4 - The Orlando Sentinel

<p>Boosters like to sell downtown revitalization as crucial to a region's economic interest -- but for most cities, that's rarely the case.</p>

August 4 - East Valley Tribune

<p>While American drivers are burning record amounts of gas to feed their motoring habits, a weird thing is happening in the freeway state – Californians continue to consume less gasoline. Sustained high gas prices may play a role by changing behavior.</p>

August 4 - The Oakland Tribune

<p>The collapsed Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis was deemed 'structurally deficient' as early as 1990, as are 77,000 other bridges in the U.S.</p>

August 4 - The New York Times