The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>This CNN video report looks at an Atlanta city councilperson's proposal to fight back against McMansions and limit the size of houses.</p>

April 16 - CNN

<p>After years in the dust of the Big Dig, Boston's North End is looking to bring in the tourists that have avoided the former construction zone for so long.</p>

April 15 - The Boston Globe

<p>Bill Fulton, a city council member for Ventura, California, offers an insider's view on adoption of the city's downtown retail and office strategy. The consultant's report.</p>

April 15 - Bill Fulton, Ventura City Council

<p>Transit officials in Chicago plan to introduce a fare card that riders will be able to use on the city's three public transportation systems.</p>

April 15 - The Chicago Tribune

<p>Golf courses are becoming increasingly popular among developers, especially outside of the United States. The vast majority are being built as housing projects, consuming hundreds of acres of land, causing an increased strain on water resources.</p>

April 15 - International Herald Tribune

<p>The feelings of city council candidates about a downtown revitalization plan appears to have the most sway over voters in El Paso, Texas, who are making large contirbutions to those opposing the plan.</p>

April 15 - El Paso Times

<p>L.A. City's new Planning Director, Gail Goldberg, is now nearly as visible as the city's mayor or chief of police. She is at the beginning of a tough uphill battle to change planning in Los Angeles.</p>

April 14 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>On its MemphisCrimeStories.com site, the Memphis Commercial-Appeal utilizes GIS technology to allow residents to plug in their street name or zip code and see recently reported crimes in their areas.</p>

April 14 - Memphis Commercial-Appeal

<p>Several bloggers outline a set of principles to guide the future growth and evolution of the city of Pittsburgh and Southwest Pennsylvania.</p>

April 14 - Pittsblog

<p>As South Carolina continues to experience accelerated growth, the state must better assess and manage its water needs, particularly in light of shared water sources between its fast-growing neighboring states.</p>

April 14 - The State

<p>Believed to be a first for Fort Lauderdale (and possibly citizens elsewhere) residents opposed to a 15-story, 387 foot long boat storage facility in the City have created a website and video on YouTube asking City Commissioners to stop the project.</p>

April 14 - Fort Lauderdale Observer

<p>Working-class families priced out of urban areas and a squeezed middle class facing shrinking wages and unaffordable housing, are among those living in poverty in the suburbs.</p>

April 14 - AlterNet

BLOG POST

<p>(Prefatory musing: As the title implies, this is Part 1 in a series. I haven&#39;t yet mapped out any of the other parts, but considering the boundless errata that clutter American cities, I anticipate little trouble finding objectionables to raise my ire next time my monthly deadline approaches. I welcome my fellow Interchangers to follow suit.) </p>

April 13 - Josh Stephens

<p>In an effort to bring 1,000 buildings up to code and to perhaps preserve the modicum of affordable housing left in the city, Mayor Bloomberg is supporting a bill that forces land lords to pay for improvements.</p>

April 13 - The New York Times

<p>After a lull in ridership, more people are now riding metropolitan Albuquerque's commuter rail line, thanks to the opening of new stations. The rail line is less than one year old and now counts more than 2,000 riders per day.</p>

April 13 - The Albuquerque Tribune

<p>Plans to build affordable housing in Baltimore have incited local residents to collect hundreds of signatures in opposition to what they fear will destroy their neighborhood.</p>

April 13 - The Baltimore Sun

<p>A canal in Brooklyn has been contaminated by sewage and runoff for years, but as conditions begin to improve, developers are thinking about ways to build houses in the primarily industrial area.</p>

April 13 - The New York Times

<p>The policy of urban consolidation that Sydney has followed for 20 years is straining the region's infrastructure, while providing little to no affordable housing, argues a newly published paper.</p>

April 13 - The Sydney Morning Herald

BLOG POST

<p>This message is brought to you by the frustrated residents of a city where strip malls prosper and the stock of affordable housing struggles to keep up with demand. </p><p><img src="/files/u5174/20070407-housingcrisis.jpg" alt="Housing Crisis In L.A." title="Housing Crisis In L.A." width="400" height="272" align="middle" /></p><p>A new strip mall being constructed at the intersection of Venice Blvd. and Western Ave. in Los Angeles inspired this public display. </p><p>Strip malls are in no short supply in L.A., and this is just one example of yet another being built in the city. Unmixed-use retail developments like this are popping up all over the place. Much less new housing is being built. And a sharply lower amount of new <em>affordable</em> housing is being built. </p>

April 13 - Nate Berg

<p>Similar to a proposal being pushed by Arizona legislators, an economist in Minnesota has cautioned the state over providing too many subsidies and tax incentives to big retailers.</p>

April 13 - Pioneer Press