The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Plans to build a group of villages near science and biotech office parks in Maryland could help the area secure federal light rail funding.

October 28 - The Washington Post

To protect the endangered Delta Smelt fish, pumping of water from California's Sacramento Delta has been drastically cut back. Add in the state's three-year-long drought, and the result is a major problem for the state's people and farmers.

October 28 - The Economist

Extensive investments in rail are slashing travel times in China, and creating a vastly more connected and accessible country.

October 27 - Newsweek

BLOG POST

<p> Confused about where to study planning? Of course there’s the Planetizen guide but in the United States two free sources of information provide extensive lists of potential schools. </p>

October 27 - Ann Forsyth

A new computer modeling technique called "auralization" does just that, turning architectural drawings into simulated spaces.

October 27 - ArchiTech

A $5.4 billion deal to purchase two massive Manhattan apartment complexes and convert them to high-end rentals appears to be floundering.

October 27 - Huffington Post

A collection of non-profits working with HUD is promising to spend $4 billion on updating affordable housing across the country to be more sustainable.

October 27 - Grist

GOOD Magazine highlights designer Michael McDaniel's Reaction Housing System, a temporary shelter that can be stacked up and loaded onto a flatbed 20 at a time.

October 27 - GOOD Magazine

Robert McCartney reports on the coming onslaught of toll roads in the D.C. area, and the possibility of a 'vehicle miles traveled' option in the future.

October 27 - The Washington Post

The National Academy of Science has released a report showing that health effects from burning fossil fuels cost the economy about $120 billion a year. Global warming was not included due to uncertainty, so it's focused mostly on air pollution.

October 27 - The New York Times - Environment

Nairobi planners are promoting a new vision of the African nation criss-crossed with superhighways. Enrique Penalosa visited Nairobi last week to try to persuade them to reverse course.

October 27 - Daily Nation

So says William Schroeer the State Policy Director at Smart Growth America, speaking at the High Speed Rail Conference in D.C. last weekend.

October 27 - ASLA's The Dirt blog

A new report claims that the way the global warming impact of biofuels is measured leaves out the land use component of clearing land and growing crops.

October 27 - The Washington Post

Jacobs' ideas about urban planning bumped her to the top of her Top Urban Thinkers list, but economists are turning to her other books to rethink local economies.

October 26 - Miller-McCune

A new book edited by John Julius Norwich with that title selects the 68 cities that have made the most impact on history. The Wall St. Journal has a review.

October 26 - The Wall St. Journal

What does Main Street America look like today? A journalist, a public radio producer, and two Harvard PhD students set out to visit actual Main Streets across the country to find out.

October 26 - WorldChanging

"Cash for Clunkers" was upside-down and wrong-headed, rewarding bad behavior rather than punishing it, says Libertarian Richard A. Epstein.

October 26 - Forbes

An updated version of the agency's strategic plan aims to double bicycle modeshare by 2012 compared to 2007 levels.

October 26 - Streetsblog

President Mubarak of Egypt is allowing developers to create American-style suburban developments in dry desert land outside Cairo.

October 26 - POLIS

BLOG POST

The second edition list of the best urban planning costume ideas.

October 26 - Nate Berg