The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The WSJ profiles developer Jim Koman of Koman Properties Inc., and questions whether eminent domain is the only realistic tool for growth in severely depressed urban areas like East St. Louis.

October 6 - The Wall Street Journal

Could taxing people on their anticipated road use be a more equitable way to pay for roads and related infrastructure? Would it reduce car dependancy in the long term?

October 6 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinal

Can the United States expect a future filled with disasters on the order of Katrinas and Ritas? 'Are we prepared to lose a major city every year?'

October 6 - Chicago Sun-Times

A geologist's controversial theory that the oil in Alberta's tar sands flowed from coal fields based on ancient peat, could mean that there are vast supplies of oil waiting to be discovered, not just in Alberta but all over the world.

October 5 - The Globe and Mail

Many different planning factions are fighting to have their say in the long process of rebuilding New Orleans.

October 5 - The Boston Globe

India's retail industry is undergoing a dramatic transformation as the middle class flocks to shopping malls and foreign investors are poised to move in.

October 5 - BBC World Service

In order to rebuild a sustainable New Orleans, much of it will have to be destroyed -- a process that has both sides of the preservation fence scrambling to make their voices heard.

October 5 - The Los Angeles Times

Lior Hessel, CEO of OrganiTech, has a vision to turn empty storage containers into high-rise organic farms.

October 5 - Wired

Author D.J. Waldie calls for the creation of more open space in park poor Los Angeles.

October 5 - Los Angeles Times

The Dutch are gearing up for climate change with amphibious houses. If rivers rise above their banks, the houses simply float higher.

October 5 - Der Spiegel

Soaring gas prices in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have seen a dramatic drop in SUV sales.

October 5 - The Globe and Mail

In most cities, school districts occupy more land than any private developer or other public entity. Yet, the cities in which school districts operate often have no more influence over schools than they do foreign countries.

October 5 - The Planning Report

The Chesapeake region's largest remaining wetlands face twin threats of suburban sprawl and rising sea levels.

October 5 - The Baltimore Sun

Excellent transportation, telecommunications and utilities helped Vancouver, British Columbia take the top spot in The Economist's ranking of the world's most livable cities; not a single U.S. city makes the top 10.

October 5 - The Globe and Mail

Google's interest in providing wi-fi for San Francisco is good news for municipal wireless.

October 4 - Governing.com: 13th Floor

A new research paper examines Florida's ideas, focusing on the evidence in British cities, and finds little evidence that 'creative' cities do better.

October 4 - Insitute for Public Policy Research

A proposed 55-story hotel next to the downtown Convention Center already has other area hotel owners ready to fight the City Council in court.

October 4 - The Los Angeles Times

The FBI and Building Industry Association of Washington are offering $100,000 for the conviction individuals responsible for criminal acts claimed by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF).

October 4 - Nation's Building News

A group is trying to save one of the last examples of Googie architecture in Las Vegas.

October 4 - Abhijeet Chavan

The FAA approves a $15 billion budget to expand O'Hare airport -- and just as quickly, a federal court halts the project.

October 4 - The Chicago Tribune