The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

America’s Top Arrested Developments, In Honor of Sunday's Season 4 Premiere

After a seven-year hiatus, Netflix is bringing back the critically acclaimed television series Arrested Development, and with it memories of the Great Recession.

May 25 - Architizer

Forgotten Freight Demands Frighten Transportation Planners

While much of the current discussion in planning centers on decreasing road capacity to promote greater pedestrian mobility, Eric Jaffe wonders if we are thinking enough about the critical and complex task of moving freight.

May 25 - The Atlantic Cities

To Pop or Not? Hirshhorn 'Bubble' Puts Museum at a Crossroads

Designed by Diller Scofidio & Renfro, the Hirshhorn "Bubble" would cost $12.5 million and operate two months out of the year, creating performance and additional gallery space for the museum on the National Mall. If it actually gets built, that is.

May 25 - New York Times

Government Report Blames City Officials and Factory Owner in Dhaka Collapse

Less than 24 hours after a structural engineer deemed the building unsafe, Sohel Rana ordered garment workers back on the job.

May 25 - New York Times

Friday Funny: Pining for the Good Old Days of 'Slight' Gentrification

Do you treasure the good old days of $6 drafts, fancy drinks in Mason Jars, and less-snazzy Starbucks? Than you'll sympathize with Dan Hopper, who laments the changes to his neighborhood as 'slightly richer people' move in.

May 24 - College Humor


Applying the Brakes to the Streetcar Revival

With Los Angeles, Charlotte, Washington D.C. and many more cities hoping on board, seats are filling up quickly on America's streetcar bandwagon. However, experts caution gung ho cities about unreal expectations for improving mobility.

May 24 - The Atlantic Cities

Dramatic Bridge Collapse Snarls Washington Traffic

Two cars plunged off the I-5 truss bridge, 60 miles north of Seattle, into the frigid Skagit River at the end of Thursday's commute, but no deaths nor serious injuries occurred. The likely cause appears to be a big-rig hitting the 58-year-old bridge.

May 24 - Washington State Bridge Collapse - No Fatalities


Can a Light Rail Stop Revive the Last African American Business Corridor in L.A.?

After years of discussions, arguments, and pleas, residents of the Leimert Park neighborhood in South Los Angeles won their battle for the creation of a local stop along a new light rail line soon to start construction.

May 24 - Los Angeles Times

Why the NYC Bike Share Backlash Is a Good Thing

Paris, London, Copenhagen: all over the world, opponents have tried to put the brakes on bike-share programs. Then they fall in love. Is New York City next? The author of "Traffic" thinks so.

May 24 - OnEarth

CBO Analyzes Obama's 'Hallucinatory' Transportation Budget

According to the CBO, President Obama's transportation budget keeps the Highway Trust Fund, currently expected to run out of funds in 2015, solvent until 2021. The additional funds come from 'intergovernmental transfers' - but are they real?

May 24 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Oregon DOT Renounces 'Highway Centric' Approach

State departments of transportation aren't known for being the most progressive public agencies. But, in response to economic and demographic changes, Oregon's DOT (ODOT) is breaking the mold by embracing a multimodal transformation.

May 24 - Bike Portland

Chicago’s Top Tourist Attraction to Get Green Makeover

The $176 million Phase I design concept for Navy Pier unveiled last week promises a "parklike" feel along the banks of Lake Michigan.

May 24 - Chicago Tribune

Providence Plans Pedestrian Oasis for Downtown

Utilizing a series of compelling before and after renderings, Amanda Gruen walks through Union Studio Architects' plan to improve the pedestrian and transit experience in downtown Providence's Kennedy Plaza.

May 24 - The Architect's Newspaper Blog

Outlet Malls Buck Retail Trends

While traditional enclosed malls, big box stores, and strip malls are struggling in an uncertain retail marketplace, sales at America's outlet malls are growing at a healthy pace. One mall near New York City is showing the pains of popularity.

May 24 - The New York Times

Can Gentle Gentrification Create 'Shared Neighbourhoods'?

Is revitalization without displacement possible? Although it's a harder and longer process than unmitigated gentrification, Brent Toderian argues that "positive and responsible change" can coexist with the maintenance of existing communities.

May 23 - HuffPost British Columbia

City Growth Picks Up, Continues to Outpace Suburbs

New census data shows that America's cities continue to grow at a faster rate than their suburbs, sustaining the reversal of a decades-long trend.

May 23 - The Wall Street Journal

Parking Sign Blue

Mapping the United States of Parking

With arresting infographics, architect Seth Goodman aims to expose the absurd parking requirements that can be found in cities across America.

May 23 - DC.Streetsblog

Chicago Plans Largest School Closing in Nation's History

Seeking to trim budgets and 'distribute scarce resources more efficiently,' Mayor Rahm Emanuel's controversial plan to shrink Chicago's school system moved ahead yesterday with the Board of Ed's vote to shut 49 of the city's elementary schools.

May 23 - Chicago Tribune

Does Delhi's Drive to be a World-Class City Doom Low-Income Communities?

A proposal for a vertical neighborhood in Delhi is long on height but short on insight, according to Greg Randolph of the American India Foundation. Is Delhi ‘poised to repeat the public housing mistakes of the West’?

May 23 - The Global Urbanist

BLOG POST

"Bike Breaks" Leverage Dynamic Resources for Synergistic Efficiency Improvements (they really do!)

Using bicycle racks as partitions in lieu of fences, called "bike breaks", in heavily trafficked areas accomplishes two goals at once and fends off the design wonks.

May 23 - Ian Sacs

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