The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Mixed Use Outperforms Big Box Development

Tax revenue-per-acre figures for big box developments are only slightly higher than residential developments, and not as high as mixed use project, according to this column from Mary Newsom.

July 13 - Citiwire

BRT Money Heads to Chicago and New York

Chicago and New York City have secured funds form the Federal Transportation Administration to build bus rapid transit systems.

July 13 - The Architect's Newspaper

BLOG POST

Are You For/Against Closing Street Segments?

<div>There&#39;s a lot of babbling on in this blog about how streets are public space, that they are for people, and that they should be designed equitably for everyone.

July 13 - Ian Sacs

Small Cities Fill CNN's 'Best Places to Live'

Apparently metropolises are out- CNN Money's annual list of the "Best Places to Live" is filled with small cities like Eden Prairie, Minnesota and Overland Park, Kansas.

July 12 - CNN Money

China's Development Will Be Major Factor in Climate Change

Asia's energy consumption increased 70% in the ten years leading to 2008. With China continuing to build and urbanize, the Economist argues that the country's sustainable strategies won't make a significant dent in the problem.

July 12 - The Economist


Joseph Stalin Out, Michael Jackson In?

Michael Jackson fans in Prague want to build a statue commemorating the musician in the same park that once housed the world's biggest bust of Joseph Stalin. Some locals aren't happy about the plan.

July 12 - Der Spiegel

Thirsty Australia Turns to the Ocean

Arid Australia is investing big-time in a water desalination project that will attempt to ease some of the country's water woes.

July 12 - The New York Times


As World Cup Ends, Olympic Dreams Spark in South Africa

Officials in South Africa say the country's successful hosting of the 2010 World Cup positions it to be a viable host for the Olympics.

July 12 - Guardian

BLOG POST

And The Winner Is…

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small">Spanish football fans are celebrating in the streets, while in The Netherlands they are drowning their sorrows, but the real winners of the 2010 World Cup are the people of South Africa. Long after the last vuvuzela is sounded, residents and visitors will enjoy the legacy of new </span><a href="http://www.arrivealive.co.za/pages.aspx?i=2874"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small">Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small"> systems build in South Africa’s four major cities.</span> </p> <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> &#160; </p>

July 12 - Todd Litman

Many Ways to Reimagine Suburbia

The "Build a Better Burb" contest from Long Island Index has chosen 23 finalists with a variety of interesting ideas for redesigning the suburbs for the next century - in this case, Long Island.

July 12 - A Daily Dose Of Architecture

Emissions-Eating Roads

A new report says that roads embedded with titanium dioxide can help purify the air by absorbing 25 to 45 percent of nitrogen oxides emitted by cars.

July 12 - AutoBlogGreen

New Development: Always a Good Sign?

Dan Rodricks has been reading a lot of "good news" about new residential building permits being taken out around Baltimore, and questions whether new development is always a good sign.

July 12 - The Baltimore Sun

Road Diet Crash Reduction Variations Studied By DOT

This 4-page summary report (PDF) is a summary of a technical paper attempting to show differences in the reduction in road crashes that result from road diets.

July 12 - The Highway Safety Information System (U.S. DOT-FHWA)

S.F.'s Market Street Railway Celebrates Sesquicentennial

Carl Nolte, the San Francisco Chronicle's historian, writes on the 150-year anniversary of the Market St. Railway that began operation as a 2-car steam train on July 4, 1860, and the evolution of rail on/under Market St including BART & Muni Metro.

July 12 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Foreclosure Rate Highest Among Wealthy

What's not known is how many of the homes are investments, or primary or secondary residences, but it's clear that the foreclosure rate for mortgages exceeding $1million is higher than for lower priced homes, according to the New York Times analysis.

July 11 - The New York Times - Economy

The "Blunt Savvy" of Eli Broad

"For all of Eli Broad's consistent prominence on the public stage in recent years, the buildings he has helped develop make up a disparate, even contradictory group," writes Christopher Hawthorne as he describes the patron's philanthropic endeavors.

July 11 - Los Angeles Times

Walkability Makes You Healthier and Wealthier

Conrad deFiebre sums up the benefits of living in a walkable neighborhood, from improved health to improved wealth, both via higher property values and less of hard-earned dollars paid out to oil and car companies.

July 11 - Twin Cities Daily Planet

Used MetroCards Make Big Litter - MTA Proposes a Solution

They litter almost every subway entrance - the ubiquitous, value-exhausted plastic MetroCards. Yet, MetroCards are refillable. Now MTA has devised a simple, revenue-producing measure that would reduce the litter by adding a $1 fee to new cards.

July 11 - New York Post

TOD Boom in L.A.

Light rail is expanding to Los Angeles' Westside, and with it is coming a wave of transit-oriented developments.

July 11 - The New York Times

Can The Feds Make Sustainability Happen?

The Obama administration is trying to rein in suburban sprawl. But is it any match for 70 years of unsustainable development?

July 10 - The American Prospect

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