The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Now 10 years after opening, boardings on Los Angeles' much-maligned Green Line are increasing.

July 12 - The Los Angeles Times

it's not about traffic planning and latest design trends -- education is the key to creating livable communities.

July 12 - Palm Beach Post

National Geographic Traveler reports on the reactions by communities to it's first-ever 'Index of Destination Stewardship'.

July 12 - National Geographic

A controversial charter measure curbing growth won't be placed on the November ballot.

July 11 - Sun-Sentinel

An initiative by open space proponents in Utah fails to get on the November ballot by just a few signatures.

July 11 - The Salt Lake Tribune

Exploring the origins of both the term and the concept, Prof. Chris Hamnett explores how the equally loved and hated trend has "remade the social structure of the post-industrial city."

July 11 - The Financial Times

In a bizarre legal fight in Minnesota, the oil giant wants to stop eminent domain for a public housing project by claiming its own land is too polluted for residents.

July 11 - St. Paul Pioneer Press

With thousands of new residents poised to pour into high-density condos, Miami officials may restart its abandoned trolley lines without Federal funding.

July 11 - The Miami Herald

The signature plants aren't being replanted as urban foresters look to cheaper pollution-fighting shade trees.

July 10 - The Los Angeles Times

Large houses built with green building methods may be more environmentally damaging than smaller houses that are less green.

July 10 - Salon

Vacant big box superstores can be hard to reuse, but some communities are adapting them creatively

July 10 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

As demographics change, builders change housing products to focus on rapidly increasing one and two-person 'non-nuclear' families.

July 10 - Wall St. Journal

Despite billions in aid, low-income buyers have been priced out of the housing market and middle-class status.

July 10 - The Los Angeles Times

BLOG POST

I recently downloaded and played around with a neat 3D modeling tool called <a href="http://www.sketchup.com">Sketchup</a>. @Last Software's SketchUp is a 3D modeling package intended to be used by architects and designers who need to quickly outline 3D ideas, but don't care for the difficulty of a CAD program, or the advanced features of a high-end 3D modeler. <br /> <br /> SketchUp's toolset is fairly simple, offering a Photoshop-like, two-column tool palette. SketchUp has also a very helpful grid guidance system, with multiple colors to guide you through the 3D orientation plans.

July 9 - Ken Snyder

BLOG POST

On the subject of interesting uses for Geographic Information Systems (GIS), I ran across this fascinating site, <a href="http://www.streetgangs.com/maps/">Maps and Territories of Gangs in Los Angeles County</a>, while doing some background reading for a new course I'll be teaching at USC on technology and planning. <br /> <br /> <img src="http://www.streetgangs.com/maps/territory/territory_05.jpg" align="right" alt="Territory Map" />The author, <a href="http://www.streetgangs.com/contact.html">Alex Alonso</a>, who is himself apparently a PhD candidate in USC's <a href="http://www.usc.edu/dept/geography/">Geography department</a>

July 9 - Chris Steins

Springfied officials want to quit the regional planning process for the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area due to its "mind-numbing complexities".

July 9 - The Register-Guard

New York City and Los Angeles once represented the extremes of American culture. Now they've become equally bland, writes Patrick Moore.

July 9 - The Los Angeles Times

BLOG POST

Good story today in the New York Times on parks, new and old, in Manhattan (here's the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/09/arts/09DUNL.html?pagewanted=1">link</a>, reg. req'd). <br /> <br /> City parks -- urban ecology -- is problematic for me. I'm not totally convinced that cities should have parks (yes, yes, you're yelling at me now: Central Park! Olmstead and Vaux! The Emerald Necklace! Golden Gate Park! Griffith Park! Just relax for a minute, cowboy).<br /> <br /> Among many smart people, <a href="http://architecture.mit.edu/people/profiles/prspirn.html">Anne Whiston Spirn</a>

July 9 - Anonymous

Due to new high-rise projects along the Rhine, UNESCO says the 'visual impact' of the church is under attack. Mayor Fritz Schramma rejected the decision, claiming the right to development in his downtown.

July 9 - Deutsche Welle

Alex McDowell was asked by Steven Spielberg to build the set for the movie, "The Terminal", and built a 'fantasy terminal' in just eight months.

July 9 - Wall St. Journal