The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The Seattle City Council has unanimously approved an ordinance that will allow owners of single family homes to construct additional cottage-like housing units on their property.

November 4 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a test on three different types of porous pavement to devise ways to control runoff from parking lots and streets.

November 4 - Scientific American

The Canadian Urban Institute presented its yearly 'Brownie' awards last week, honoring the best brownfield redevelopment projects in the nation.

November 4 - Daily Commercial News and Construction Record

BLOG POST

<p> For those who either have been wondering about, or not regularly following, the private life and times of your correspondent, I believe some sort of explanation is in order for what appears to have been my abrupt and complete disappearance off the face of the Earth.  No, I did not get hit by an electric bus.  No, there were no sinkholes in my proverbial bike lane.  No, I didn&#39;t fatally discover an improperly phased pedestrian “Don&#39;t Walk” message on a recent signal timing field test.  In fact, I have not disappeared from the face of any planet; rather, I have been devoured by the political wranglings and machinations of a very complex and tumultuous mayoral campaign in my fantastic hometown of Hoboken, New Jersey.  More importantly, one week after being <a href="http://hudsonreporter.com/pages/full_stories_home/push?article--Hoboken+Mayor+Zimmer+hires+Ian+Sacs+to+head+Parking+Utility-+Corea+can+return+to+City+Hall+at+lower+salary-%20&amp;id=3510818--Hoboken+Mayor+Zimmer+hires+Ian+Sacs+to+head+Parking+Utility-+Corea+can+return+to+City+Hall+at+lower+salary-&amp;instance=up_to_the_minute_lead_story_left_column">appointed Provisional Director</a> of the Hoboken Parking Utility, my wife gave birth to a wonderful boy.  But – sniff – I did miss you! </p>

November 4 - Ian Sacs

The Legatum Institute, a London think tank, has published a report ranking countries in terms of prosperity. The U.S. took a big hit for health care.

November 3 - Foreign Policy

Architect Bill Bickford would like to turn Chicago's historic Three Arts Club into a columbarium, or building to house cremated remains. The former dormitory for women artists is revered by preservationists, but hasn't been in use since 2003.

November 3 - Chicago Business

Bologna, Italy is getting a new monorail to connect the city with the airport, powered by photovoltaic panels built into the infrastructure.

November 3 - Inhabitat

The Feds have given the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) $151 million to look at some highly unusual ways of creating energy. Are they so crazy they just might work -- or just plain crazy?

November 3 - The Christian Science Monitor

This piece from <em>The New York Times</em> looks at the role of private gardens and public-facing landscaping in the city of Baghdad.

November 3 - The New York Times

<em>The Architect's Newspaper</em> reports on the first demolition of a historic building on the Walter Gropius-designed Michael Reese hospital campus in Chicago, the proposed site of now-ditched plans for an Olympic Village.

November 3 - The Architect's Newspaper

The ongoing trial of a California driver who allegedly injured two cyclists on purpose has become a rallying point for cyclists around the country, who are hoping the verdict elicits greater respect to cyclists from motorists.

November 3 - Los Angeles Times

A recent study of health insurance costs finds that people who live in suburban areas outside of Chicago pay less for health insurance than those who live in the urban core.

November 3 - Chicago Sun-Times

Residents in Vancouver are reportedly in favor of keeping a dedicated lane for pedestrians and cyclists on a local bridge. Even some motorists are in support.

November 3 - The Vancouver Sun

The motherlode of wind energy up, up in the air, say scientists. A handful of new technologies are being developed to harvest it at the source, roughly six miles up.

November 3 - Miller-McCune

BLOG POST

<p> &quot;Don&#39;t Bogart That Joint, My Friend&quot; </p> <p> Lyrics: <em>Lawrence</em><em> Wagner</em><br /> Music: <em>Elliot Ingber</em> </p> <p> <em>(on the soundtrack of &quot;Easy Rider&quot;) </em> </p> <p> <em><span style="text-decoration: underline">Chorus</span></em><br /> Don&#39;t bogart that joint my friend<br /> Pass it over to me<br /> Don&#39;t bogart that joint my friend<br /> Pass it over to me </p> <p> Roll another one<br /> Just like the other one<br /> You&#39;ve been holding on to it<br /> And I sure will like a hit </p> <p> [<em>chorus</em>] </p> <p> Roll another one<br /> Just like the other one<br /> That one&#39;s burned to the end<br /> Come on and be a real friend </p> <p> [<em>chorus</em>] </p> <p> Marijuana is prescribed for certain medical conditions, such as pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation. Since 1996, <a href="http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/node/54">at least 13 states have legalized</a> the sale of medical marijuana. </p> <p> Now, check your zoning regulations and see what districts allow this land use: &quot;Retail Sales – Medical Marijuana.&quot; Couldn’t find it, right? </p>

November 2 - Dwight Merriam

Officials in Oakland, CA are pioneering a new method of measuring the health impact of development, going beyond EIRs to get a more fully-fleshed assessment.

November 2 - Sustainable Industries

Ford Motor Co. is reporting almost $1b in profits in the third quarter. CEO Alan Mulally credits the Cash for Clunkers program and cost cutting for their success.

November 2 - The Los Angeles Times

David Villano takes an in-depth survey of the state of public engagement practices in the U.S., and the positive effects of the processes that work.

November 2 - Miller-McCune

When it comes to Houston's light rail, Randal O'Toole says you're doing it wrong. Planners are trumpeting high ridership numbers, but O'Toole says the numbers show an overall decline in Houston's transit ridership.

November 2 - The Antiplanner

"Greenwich South" is a proposed re-branding of an area near the World Trade Center site, driven by The Alliance for Downtown New York and re-envisioned by ten different architectural firms.

November 2 - GOOD Magazine