The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Developers in Boulder are planning to unveil a 12-home subdivision that claims to be one of the nation's first "zero-energy" neighborhoods.

December 1 - Boulder Daily Camera

A new study published in the medical journal Lancet outlines the health benefits of human-powered transportation modes.

December 1 - Montreal Gazette

City officials in Austin are considering a new incentive for builders willing to include public spaces in new projects.

December 1 - Austin American-Statesman

The California Supreme Court has refused to re-hear a decision made by a lower court on affordable housing requirements, which may make such requirements throughout the state invalid.

December 1 - San Francisco Chronicle

A significant portion of greater Cleveland's economy is driven by its immigrant population, according to a new report.

December 1 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer

A planned tunnel under the Bosphorus to connect Asia and Europe by rail has ground to a halt because of the extensive archeological discoveries at the dig.

December 1 - Voice Of America

No major public works are underway in the United States, according to this piece from <em>The New York Times</em>. Some say the absence of major infrastructure projects may be hurting the economy.

December 1 - The New York Times

Some mayors say the Obama Administration's urban agenda concentrates too much power at the state level.

November 30 - The Atlantic

Lessons from the Bronx: A community can halt a road expansion project if they get involved and make their voices heard. In this case, the NY DOT listened and thus chose not to widen exit ramps during a rehabilitation project on the Major Deegan.

November 30 - Mott Haven Herald

After years of spectacular growth and even more spectacular architecture, the city state of Dubai is facing crushing debts and has requested a 6-month "standstill" on its repayments.

November 30 - Huffington Post

There's a glut of ethanol on the market, and the solutions to consume it are not easy. The maximum blend in gasoline is 10% before it affects the catalytic converter, and E85 can't compete with the more efficient, though more expensive, gasoline.

November 30 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

New plans have been released by Gensler that show a proposed expansion of the holy city of Mecca.

November 30 - The Architect's Journal

BLOG POST

<p> Those of us whose professional lives are inextricably linked to the real estate development economy in one way or another have had plenty of time in the last year to twiddle our thumbs and attempt to figure out what the heck happened. This much we know — there was a housing bubble some places, it burst, and the economy collapsed. Have you ever slipped and fell – one those unexpected spectacular aerial feats where your feet fly out from underneath you, you look down your legs and see your toes at eye level pointing to the sky, and you say to yourself “this is really going to hurt when I land”? That’s what this year has been like for many, some of whom are still waiting to hit hard because they had projects in the pipeline and they are grinding their way through “inventory” of unfinished work. Plus, we started from a high plateau. Wall Street types call the unexpected but apparent life in the market during the first part of a recession “<a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/deadcatbounce.asp">dead cat bounce</a>” which Forbes defines as “a temporary recovery from a prolonged decline or bear market, after which the market continues to fall.” Even a dead cat dropped from a very high place will bounce a little when it hits the ground… </p>

November 30 - Dwight Merriam

Some local food activists are taking their movement to a whole new territory: urban hunting.

November 30 - The New York Times

Richard Louv proposes that local groups use the land trust model to create small public spaces, or what he calls "button parks."

November 30 - Citiwire.net

Like many American cities, Lansing, Michigan, has been afflicted with sprawl since the end of World War II. Locals have identified the culprit: separate-use zoning.

November 30 - Lansing City Pulse

The village of Cowichan Bay, British Colombia, has been named the first "Slow City" in North America. This report from <em>Living on Earth</em> tours the town.

November 30 - Living on Earth

BLOG POST

<p> New Jersey&#39;s prized gateway communities along Long Beach Island - South Jersey&#39;s extra-special vacation spot better known to the planning community for its prescient example as human habitation threatened by natural erosion in Ian McHarg&#39;s planning tome “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Design-Nature-Wiley-Sustainable/dp/047111460X">Design with Nature</a>” - are facing an entirely man-made threat in the form of ill-conceived plans to effectively double the roadway “capacity” of the one and only bridge connecting this 18 mile barrier island to the mainland.  If NJDOT is left to its own devices, and <a href="http://www.app.com/article/20091117/NEWS/911170348/1070/NEWS02">local community officials rush them along</a>, a proposed new bridge will have the complete opposi

November 30 - Ian Sacs

FEATURE

In the battle against climate change, cities will be even more important than we think, says Michael Mehaffy, managing director of the Sustasis Foundation. Research presented in Copenhagen shows that Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMTs) are only part of the story, and should not be considered in isolation from other factors.

November 30 - Michael Mehaffy

Last week, officials in Qatar inked a deal with Germany's Deutsche Bahn to develop local and high-speed rail links at an estimated cost of $25 billion.

November 30 - the transport politic