The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Build Smarter: Learning from the Housing Bust

Builder Magazine presents six lessons for builders to learn from the housing bust, including 'limit your land holdings', 'build smarter', and 'diversify beyond new-home construction'.

May 11 - Builder Magazine

Car is #1 Necessity, Say Americans

A new study from the Pew Research Center says that even though Americans are driving less, they still see a car as the most necessary item they own. Air conditioning and TV are a good 10% less necessary.

May 11 - TOLLROADSnews

FEATURE

Capturing the Value of Transit

With stimulus funding creating new transit projects across the country, now may be a great time to use innovative methods for funding development around transit, say Nadine Fogarty and Gloria Ohland of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development. Portland and Denver are just two communities that have seen property values rise around rail.

May 11 - Nadine Fogarty

The Neuroscience of Architecture

Recent studies in neuroscience show that the design of the built environment affects the way you feel and your behavior. New brain scan technology is revealing emotional reactions to color choice, rounded corners, and ceiling height.

May 11 - Fast Company

Train to Run on Sunshine?

An Arizona company is proposing a solar-powered elevated train running between Tucson and Phoenix.

May 10 - Arizona Star

BART Planning Huge Investment in New Cars

BART is set to embark on a $3.4 billion project to replace its existing trains with 700 new cars that will carry more people, move passengers through stations faster, and meet the needs of suburban and urban riders.

May 10 - The San Francisco Chronicle

FEMA Trailer Foreclosures

FEMA has sent eviction notices to thousands of people in emergency trailers in New Orleans. The temporary shelter was designed to house homeowners while their homes were repaired, but many remain unfinished.

May 10 - The New York Times

D.C. Considers Retail in Train Stations

Washington D.C. transit officials are planning to allow retail vendors to set up shop in some of the city's train stations. Proponents say the move could aid security by putting more "eyes" on the system.

May 10 - Greater Greater Washington

Obama's High Speed Rail Plans

Neal Peirce looks at President Barack Obama's ambitious plans for high speed rail and the significant obstacles that stand in its way.

May 10 - Citiwire

Reviving the Rust Belt

<em>Smart City</em> talks with grass roots and civic leaders about how to revitalize flagging Rust Belt economies.

May 9 - Smart City Radio

Cities Call Sustainability a Top Priority

Five out of every six major U.S. cities claims sustainability is one of its top priorities.

May 9 - Reuters

10-Cent Gas Tax Needed for Dallas-Fort Worth Transit

It would take at least an additional 10-cent tax on gasoline to fund transit and transportation projects in metropolitan Dallas-Fort Worth, according to city officials who want to ask voters to allow the increases.

May 9 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Dukakis (Hearts) Rail

'Dukakis is a rail man,' says Alex Marshall, after the man speak on his history with Amtrak and promoting and building rail in Boston. The cure to our transit woes, according to Dukakis, is competence.

May 9 - Citiwire.net

1/3rd of U.S. Freeways in 'Poor or Mediocre' Condition

A report released today by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) details the deteriorating state of American interstates and highways, and how much it's costing us.

May 9 - Detroit Free Press

Working With Local Business to Take the Poo Out of Parks

Frustrated with dog poop in his neighborhood park, a Denver resident has initiated a program that places locally-sponsored poop bagging and disposal kiosks in parks throughout the city.

May 8 - The Denver Post

Washington, Stop Promoting Homeownership

Steven Malanga looks back at a century of efforts by Washington to promote homeownership, which he says 'has produced one calamity after another.'

May 8 - City Journal

High-Speed Rail Means Real Estate Boom

Peter Gertler of HNTB says that the Obama administration's high-speed rail investments will attract new development around stations.

May 8 - Forbes

Areas Near Grand Canyon Approved for Mining

Despite a congressional ruling last year that prevents them, wight uranium mining operations have been approved near the Grand Canyon.

May 8 - Scientific American

BLOG POST

The World's Greatest Threat: Cul-De-Sacs?

May 8 - Mike Lydon

Promising New Technology for Tidal Power

Testing is underway in the U.K. on 'Anaconda', a giant rubber 'snake' that converts tidal wave energy to electricity. A full-sized Anaconda could reportedly power 1,000 homes.

May 8 - New Scientist