The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A new Brookings Institution report shows that places of concentrated poverty are getting worse due to unsustained growth nationwide and the suburbanization of poverty. Authors Elizabeth Kneebone and Alan Berube expound on the findings.

November 6 - The Atlantic Cities

As the world continues to urbanize and megacities continue to grow, cities are increasingly "unrecognizable," no longer necessarily, say, places of political power. David Pillings repots on this and other issues challenging the traditional city.

November 6 - Financial Times

With its revised business plan released Nov. 1 showing a dramatic increase in costs and time to build the 800 mile system, the Authority adopted its funding plan to a largely skeptical audience, many from the Central Valley where construction begins.

November 5 - Los Angeles Times

Grist profiles a British street artist who specializes in creating images on dirty urban spaces (like tunnel walls) by simply washing away the grime.

November 5 - Grist

Nate Berg introduces us to a branch of astrophysicists hoping to utilize new telescope technology to locate potential alien cities on distant planets.

November 5 - The Atlantic

While the rest of the city's waterfronts are to be developed as public promenades, much of Brooklyn wants to retain its previous industrial uses. Liana Grey reports.

November 5 - Real Estate Weeky

As part of a larger parks plan, one Atlanta suburb wants to use its bonds to build a sports complex where housing already exists. Adding to the controversy, the idea doesn't seem to have gone through a proper public review. Melissa Weinman reports.

November 5 - Reporter Newspapers

The new edition of the Grand Theft Auto series will parody LA, including its idiosyncratic planning landscape, which will feature avaricious developers, activist NIMBYs, and a oceanside dwelling starchitect.

November 4 - Curbed LA

Mark Chediak of Bloomberg writes about a referendum being held in Boulder, Colorado that will decide whether or not to publicly take over the Smart Grid project implemented by Xcel Energy.

November 4 - Bloomberg

Manuel "Matty" Moroun has spent millions cleaning up Michigan Central Depot, cleaning out debris and hiring architects and feasibility experts to figure out how much of the building is worth saving.

November 4 - The Detroit News

The Web Urbanist counts down twelve of the best ultra modern home designs with a descriptive slideshow.

November 4 - Web Urbanist

Ethan Epstein chronicles the work of Seattle's mayor, Mike McGinn, who won office in 2009 from established candidates and a powerful incumbent on a "philosophically anti-car" base.

November 4 - City Journal

A startup is proposing a new way to incentivize alternative transportation choices by giving people the option each day to choose between cars, bikes and transit.

November 4 - Fast Company

The editorial board of The Sacramento Bee was pleased with the new business plan of the HSR Authority, especially its new focus on improving commuter rail, while its premier columnist, Dan Walters, continues to see the project as unnecessary.

November 4 - The Sacramento Bee - Opinion

Mark Chediak of Bloomberg writes about a referendum being held in Boulder, Colorado that will decide whether or not to publicly take over the Smart Grid project implemented by Xcel Energy.

November 4 - Bloomberg

In downtown Chicago, the parking lots add an extra $2 "congestion" tax for parking the whole day. Instead, many park illegally at Metra Station receiving parking tickets just to avoid the congestion pricing.

November 4 - Chicago Tribune

In the last installment of a three-part series on "Buy Here Pay Here" car dealerships, Ken Bensinger reports on the link between car ownership and income among the poor. Historically, legislation for low-income car ownership has been resisted.

November 4 - Los Angeles Times

According to Cuba's state-run newspaper, Cubans will be able to buy and sell residential property starting November 10. Damien Cave reports on the "excitement and fear" involved in the creation of a housing market and the future of the cities.

November 4 - The New York Times

A new film, "Creativity and the Capitalist City: The Struggle for Affordable Space in Amsterdam", explores the issue of gentrification in the city. polis has a review.

November 3 - POLIS

Charles Marohn believes that the way the US manages its infrastructure spending is problematic He finds that the lack of federal support for maintenance leads states to irrationally prioritize new projects over repairing old.

November 3 - Strong Towns Blog