The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Developing A Coexistence Between High Speed Rail and L.A.

Los Angeles architect Roger Sherman is trying to help guide the car-centric L.A. area into harmonious coexistence with the state's planned high speed rail.

November 12 - AIA

Austin BRT Revived

Two bus rapid transit projects in Austin that have been delayed for years due to lack of funding have been revived.

November 12 - The Austin-American Statesman

A Planner in the Olympics?

Kimber Gabryszak is a county planner in Utah. She's also a competitor in the sledding sport of 'skeleton', and could be taking her first steps towards competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics.

November 11 - USA Today

'Pop-Up' Cafes Heading to New York City

The City of New York has announced plans to allow restaurants to edge into the street to use parking spots for outdoor seating and patios.

November 11 - Grist

Vancouver's Transit Options, With Pricetag

Mayors in metropolitan Vancouver are facing two options for expanding transit service in the region -- and a hard decision about how to generate the funding to make it happen.

November 11 - The Vancouver Sun


Feds Pressure States to Spend Rail Funds

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently warned incoming Republican governors in Wisconsin and Ohio that dedicated stimulus funds must be spent on high-speed rail or returned, CNN reports.

November 11 - CNN

San Francisco Passes Country's First Open Data Requirement

A new law requiring city agencies and departments to make "reasonable efforts" to publish their data received unanimous support from the Board of Supervisors.

November 11 - Fast Company


FEATURE

In Defense of the NIMBY

November 11 - Keith Sugar

Outlet Centers Are Hot With Retail Developers

Retail Traffic Magazine reports that some developers who specialized in regional malls are moving over into developing outlet centers. Says an analyst, "The whole value concept is resonating right now."

November 11 - Retail Traffic Magazine

Atlanta Revamps Public Housing

Howard Husock catalogs the accomplishments of Renee Glover, the controversial leader of the Atlanta Housing Authority.

November 11 - The Washington Times

Transit Transformation in New Orleans

Jonna McKone asks, "How can transportation and urban development—from housing to public spaces to landscaping—repair a blighted American city?"

November 11 - TheCityFix

Silicon Valley Start-Ups Head Downtown

The area's tech firms, which typically favor office parks, are increasingly drawn to revitalized urban centers, according to The Wall Street Journal.

November 11 - The Wall Street Journal

A Good Mayor is Hard to Find

Steven Malanga looks at how Newark's Cory Booker and Detroit's Dave Bing are reforming their troubled cities.

November 11 - City Journal

What Jane Jacobs Prevented

A new exhibit at the Cooper Union revisits architect Paul Rudolph's vision for a megadevelopment built around Robert Moses' expressway project that would have destroyed much of SoHo and Tribeca.

November 10 - The New Yorker

Environmentalists Torn Over Smart Growth

A Berkeley, CA growth initiative revealed the stresses that smart growth play on grassroots environmental organizations like the Sierra Club where members determine positions.

November 10 - The New York Times/Bay Citizen

Enough With the New, Greenfield Utopias

Sarah Goodyear of Grist thinks Masdar, Songdu City and other smart mega-projects are fascinating, but, she says, what about fixing the cities we already have instead?

November 10 - Grist

The Plan That Changed Urban Planning

A tour shows off the results of a plan that "completely changed the direction of urban planning for much of the last century."

November 10 - New Urban Network

Pittsburgh: The City That Bounced Back

Pittsburgh is the new poster child for recovery, the city that managed to turn around its economic struggles. Ben Schulman digs in to figure out if how the myth meets reality.

November 10 - SustainableCitiesCollective

Parks, Walkability and the Role They Play in Obesity

St. Louis' Forest Park is a model of good planning, but inner-city parks are in much worse shape and having an effect on the health of those communities, says a new study.

November 10 - The St. Louis Beacon

Best and Worst States for Business Taxes

The Tax Foundation has released the newest edition of its State Business Tax Climate Index, which ranks from 1 (best) to 50 (worst) the tax systems of the 50 states. According to the press release, South Dakota comes out on top.

November 10 - The Tax Foundation

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