The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Fighting Blight in the Bronx

A New York man who has watched a Bronx neighborhood fall into despair over decades is hoping to help un-blight the troubled area.

January 10 - The New York Times

Housing Booms in China, But Without Neighborhoods

China is building millions of housing units. But is the country building neighborhoods?

January 9 - The Wall Street Journal

Seattle Tunnel Contracts Signed, But Opposition Remains

Contracts have been signed on a tunnel project to replace the earthquake-damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle. But opponents are still trying to stop the project.

January 9 - The Seattle Times

Mayors on Smart Cities

Mayors of some of the biggest cities in the U.S. talk about what makes a city smart, and how cities can become smarter.

January 9 - Time

Questioning a Floating City for Haiti

A floating city has been proposed to help ease some of the problems being faced by earthquake-damaged Haiti. But is this the answer the struggling country needs?

January 9 - The City Fix


St. Louis County Looks to Mix Uses

Officials in St. Louis are looking to update the county's zoning codes to allow denser housing, and a greater mix of land uses.

January 9 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The World's Smartest Cities

<em>Fast Company</em> runs down a list of the "smartest" cities in the world. First place goes to Songdo City, in South Korea.

January 8 - Fast Company


Reasons to be Nice to Pedestrians

Anthony Flint offers this list of the top ten reasons to be nice to pedestrians in 2011.

January 8 - The Boston Globe

Developer Appointed As Planning Director

In a controversial move, new Florida Governor Rick Scott has appointed Billy Buzzett, vice-president at a development company, to lead the state's Department of Community Affairs.

January 8 - The St. Petersburg Times

The Year of the Small

Critic Inga Saffron says that the interesting architecture and urban design is happening on the small scale: small parks, small houses and small plans.

January 8 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Sustainability Wins Award for "Jargoniest Jargon"

Advertising Age Magazine singled out "sustainability" as one of the most overused and misused words of the year.

January 7 - Triple Pundit

If You Build It, Will They Come?

California's high-speed rail project is in fact going to be built despite the state's looming budget crisis, but many are beginning to question what kind of impact the project will have if the right development around train stations is not met.

January 7 - The Bay Citizen

Mayor's Legacy: Revitalized Streetscapes

As San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom prepares to leave for Sacramento to become Lt. Governor, he praises the latest road diet plan - reducing busy Cesar Chavez St. from 6-4 lanes with landscaped median and bike lanes and views it as part of his legacy

January 7 - San Francisco Chronicle

California's Slow Speed Amtrak Trains See Ridership Gain

It's not just the High Speed Rail project making news these days in California. The three 79 mph, state-subsidized inter-city lines: Capitol Corridor, San Joaquin, and Pacific Surfliner (nation's second busiest), all registered riderships gains.

January 7 - San Francisco Chronicle

Revitalizing Cuba From Within

Julio César Pérez is a Cuban architect and urban planner. An art gallery is showing examples of his work, a perfect occasion to reflect back on what matters in architecture and planning, and lay out his vision for the future of Cuba.

January 7 - Cuban Art News

The Kids Are All Blight

The cities that often top the "most livable" lists like San Francisco, Portland, Boston and D.C. also happen to have the lowest percentage of households with children. Does that mean that kids make places un-livable?

January 7 - Conservative Planner Blog

The Best Cities for Conducting Business

A panel of "frequent fliers" chooses the best cities to have a business meeting, a convention, and all-around business friendliness.

January 7 - The Globe and Mail

Florida Transportation Planners Still Pushing Roads

In this op-ed, Daniel Shoer Roth says that fast roads are still the be-all and end-all of transportation planning in South Florida.

January 7 - The Miami Herald

Pay-As-You-Drive Insurance Could Relieve Traffic Congestion

By charging drivers for each mile they travel, rather than a fixed amount, pay-as-you-drive insurance could cut driving by eight percent nationally, or more than eleven percent in New York State, says a Brookings Institution report.

January 7 - Streetsblog

Copenhagen's Bikes on Rails

Jonna McKone of TheCityFix looks at Copenhagen's recently added rail cars that are specifically for bicyclists and other passengers with special needs.

January 7 - TheCityFix

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