The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Fearing years of costly disruption from the construction of a key link connecting the region's rail systems, some of downtown L.A.'s largest property owners are suing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

December 18 - Los Angeles Times

After 25 years, the Tahoe Regional Plan, a land use plan for the Lake Tahoe region encompassing both Nevada and California prepared by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, has been updated and approved by a 12-1-1 vote, though not without controversy.

December 18 - Tahoe Daily Tribune

"Detroit is the Paris of the Widwest", "Oakland is the Newark of the West Coast", "Chattanooga is the Cleveland of the Southeast" - a new website uses a navigable map of the world to catalog the many "X is the Y of Z" analogies found on Twitter.

December 18 - The Atlantic Cities

Developers in Seattle have been building ultra-compact apartments to provide alternatives to high housing prices. But these "aPodments," which take advantage of loopholes in codes, could bring negative consequences with the large increase in density.

December 18 - Grist

As recent reports show, there's little opportunity for escaping the growing din of the man-made world. The popularity of a silent retreat built in the middle of D.C. demonstrates a growing appreciation for the sounds of silence.

December 18 - The Washington Post

With fifteen skyscrapers over 45 stories under construction, Toronto is erecting more tall buildings than any other city in the Western Hemisphere. By 2015, the city is expected to have more than triple the number of skyscrapers than in 2005.

December 18 - The Star

Kira Gould speaks with AIA CEO Robert Ivy about a new initiative being led by the Institute to help quantify the relationship between architecture and public health, and demonstrate the value design can bring to affecting a community’s health.

December 18 - Metropolis POV Blog

Last week Chicago became the envy of America's urban biking advocates when it opened the city's first two-way protected bike lanes in the heart of the Loop, reports Lori Rotenberk.

December 17 - Grist

Already an urban leader in sustainability with one of the most stringent green building laws in the country, Washington D.C. announced last week that it will create the city’s first “living building” as part of the Sustainable D.C. Budget Challenge.

December 17 - The Washington Post

How might planners advance the dialogue with politicians and citizens for design that supports the 633,782 homeless people in the US? Howard Blackson offers some insights for San Diego, the 3rd largest population of homeless among US cities.

December 17 - PlaceShakers

Vehicle-Miles-Traveled (VMT) fees have been ruled out by the president, and while studied and even implemented (on a trial basis) at the state level, have been hampered by the privacy issue. But Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer is not dissuaded.

December 17 - The Hill's Floor Action Blog

Having a hard time finding the right set of t-squares or owlish black eyeglasses for the Howard Roark in your family? Check out the Holiday Gift Guide that Vanessa Quirk has assembled for ArchDaily.

December 17 - ArchDaily

In what could be viewed as a classic environmentalist vs. business showdown, the EPA tightened by 20% the annual standard for soot over the objection of industry and some in Congress who fear it will dampen economic growth.

December 17 - The Hill's Energy & Environment Blog

Should a business improvement district have an expiration date? That's the question some property owners in downtown Los Angeles are beginning to ask as they chafe at the "aggressive cleaning up" and additional tax assessments that fund them.

December 17 - Los Angeles Times

Max Nisen discusses how cities like Boston and Edmonton are successfully applying popular trends from the private sector - on topics such as mobility, engagement, big data and innovation - and changing the way we live.

December 17 - Business Insider

In the wake of what is becoming an all too common occurrence in the U.S., Richard Florida examines whether gun violence, and especially mass killings of the kind that took place last week in Newtown, is an urban or suburban/rural plague.

December 17 - The Atlantic Cities

Like a school of fish navigating the ocean depths or a mass migration of wildebeests, pedestrians follow fundamental laws of swarm behavior when making their way through crowded sidewalks. Alexandra Horowitz explains the laws of the herd.

December 17 - The New York Times

Notoriously bike-friendly city; home to country's leading bike-share operator; a latecomer to the bike-share bandwagon. What's working with this picture of Portland, Oregon?

December 16 - Oregon Public Broadcasting

"The Nation’s" longtime architecture critic and author of the classic, "Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take it Back" passed away Nov. 5. In her obituary, Preston Shiller contrasts her with another "Jane" - Jacobs.

December 16 - The Nation

Lindsey Millar reports on a proposed Creative Corridor plan for Little Rock, calling it “vivid and grandiose, full of all the sorts of things New Urbanists salivate over - a pedestrian promenade, rain gardens, street furniture, [and] LED lighting.."

December 16 - Arkansas Times