The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Good News for Metro DC, Says Richard Florida
The same economic reports from May (namely, the jobs report and the Home Price Index) that have led to some concern about the direction of the U.S. economy overall, tell a very different story about Wahington DC, according to Richard Florida.
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An Inaccurate Attack On Smart Growth
<p style="margin-top: 12pt" class="MsoNormal"> <em>Note: This column was originally titled, "A Stupid Attack on Smart Growth," intended as a pun on 'smart' and 'stupid.' However, that sounds harsh so I retitled it. - T.L.</em> </p> <p style="margin-top: 12pt" class="MsoNormal"> The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has a well-financed campaign to discourage communities from considering <span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif" class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/tisg.htm">smart growth</a></span> as a possible way to conserve energy and reduce pollution emissions. They contend that compact development has little effect on travel activity and so provides minimal benefits. The NAHB states that, “The existing body of research demonstrates no clear link between residential land use and GHG emissions.” But their research actually found the opposite: it indicates that smart growth policies can have significant impacts on travel activity and emissions.
Steve Jobs Pitches New Apple Campus
Last night Apple CEO Steve Jobs pitched plans for a new campus development to the Cupertino city council.
New NYC Bike Lanes Bring Attention to Bad Habits
RonConCocaCola says that the New York's new bike lanes have "exposed a clash of long-standing bad habits — such as pedestrians jaywalking, cyclists running red lights, and motorists plowing through crosswalks."
Innovative Designs for Car Parks
Donovan Gillman writes that since most of us can't simply get by without cars, we need "more livable and likable places to park them." His post at Sustainable Cities Collective includes photos of some interesting car parks.
Kotkin Compares California to Iran
Calling California's attempts at environmental responsibility a "green jihad," Joel Kotkin argues that the state's "ideological extremism" has led to illogical economic and political decisions - similar to those made in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Urban Planners as "Zookeepers"
At the National Building Museum's Intelligent Cities Forum, one participant compared creating healthy cities to creating healthy animal environments in zoos.
Fixing "A Hole in the Urban Fabric"
That's how Christopher Hume describes the Toronto area that will soon be Underpass Park, a mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhood for 6,000 people.
LaHood and DOT Employees Bike to Work (VIDEO)
This two-minute video features U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood discussing the merits of bicycling and bike friendly places as he and other DOT employees bike to work.
Section 2 of NY's High Line Park Opens
A slideshow from <em>Good Magazine</em> highlights the newly opened section of the popular High Line Park in NYC.
Tea Party Sinks Planning Meeting
Public outreach on SB 375, California's climate change bill, began last month in the San Francisco Bay Area. But the East Bay Tea Party had other plans.
Rethinking South Street Seaport
Vicky Plestis reports that Manhattan's South Street Seaport, long criticized for failing to live up to its potential, is being rethought and redesigned by its developers.
Want an Empty Philadelphia Building?
The Philadelphia Housing Authority owns over 3,000 homes and would like to get rid of 1/3rd of them.
Local Planning Offices Eliminated
Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee has slashed 58 jobs from the Department of Economic and Community Development -- including the entire local planning assistance division.
Janette Sadik-Khan's Take on L.A.
Sadik-Khan writes a guest blog for Streetsblog on lessons Los Angeles could learn from New York's embrace of public spaces and streets.
More Evidence That Preserved Buildings are Greener Than New Ones
New studies are proving that replacing already built buildings with new, energy-efficient ones is not good environmental sense.
Would You Like a Latte With That?
Toronto's new Presto smartcard for transit riders may soon allow you to pay for your parking and a coffee as well, according to Gary McNeil, president of GO Transit.
Green Development in Seattle Hits it Out of the Park
The project converted a nine-acre parking lot into an ambitious urbanist community, which revitalized a nearby natural water channel, added high density housing, retail, and integrated a walkable design.
The Importance of Delight
On top of all of the planning factors that make a place great, David Roberts adds the element of delight.
Turning to the Crowd for Ideas
Alexandra Lange highlights a crowd-sourced urban design that actually worked.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Portland
City of Laramie
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