The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The state's water supply is in trouble, and its beat-up water system can't hold up much longer. On Wednesday the federal government has promised to step in and help California rebuild its water system.

April 16 - San Francisco Chronicle

Australian transport official Nick Dimonpoulos has called on better land use and long-term planning to avoid flooding and temperature extremes brought on climate change caused by land transportation-related emissions.

April 16 - Transport & Logistics News

According to this article, community gardens can reinvent struggling neighborhoods by causing its residents to "band together."

April 16 - Chicago Tribune

As more parents drive their kids to school, areas around campuses have become increasingly dangerous for pedestrians. Narrow sidewalks and too-few crosswalks are partly to blame.

April 16 - The New York Times

With the unfettered ability to zone, plan and fund construction projects, the government of Shanghai is turning the city into what looks like "one immense architectural competition."

April 16 - The Globe and Mail

General Growth Properties, the 2nd largest mall operator in the nation, declared bankruptcy this morning. The company was felled by mounting debt from short-term mortgages it used to expand its holdings.

April 16 - The New York Times

The old saying is that he who has the gold, rules. The fact that Orange County motorists have a toll road carving through a magnificent canyon while rich folks in Malibu get to live next to scenic hillsides proves the rule, writes Bill Fulton.

April 16 - California Planning & Development Report

Downtown Los Angeles' Figueroa Corridor is getting two new high-rises, the "all" in the area's seemingly "all-or-nothing" approach to development, says Christopher Hawthorne.

April 16 - Los Angeles Times

During a round table discussion between four of Toronto's most prominent architects conclude that the city's planning, deemed dysfunctional by one, falls short.

April 16 - Toronto Star

FEATURE

A new report out of Oregon suggests that the fiscal costs of successful resort developments significantly outweigh their benefits -- and taxpayers are burdened with the tab. Erik Kancler of Central Oregon LandWatch explains.

April 16 - Erik Kancler

BLOG POST

<p> Whether you&#39;ve realized it yet or not, soccer is a big deal in this gloabalizing world. And every four years it&#39;s a huge deal for one country: the host of the FIFA World Cup. All eyes are on the host country for the 32-team tournament, which is the most-watched sporting event in the world. And though showtime is just one month long, the host spends years vying, preparing and investing for the tournament. It has major potential to spur broad countrywide improvements and economic development. So when the U.S. made news recently by <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hAf04GntIiIkl5LwxXs5V8nyvDMAD97F6TRG0" target="_blank" title="&quot;US Soccer: Plenty of time for new stadiums&quot; - Associated Press, April 9, 2009">offering forth 70 stadia as possible host sites for either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup</a> (along with <a href="http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/140/world-cup/2009/4/15/1211332/president-obama-trying-to-help-us-world-cup-bid" target="_blank" title="President Obama Trying To Help US World Cup Bid - Goal.com">a reputation booster from President Barack Obama</a>), I had to filter out my national pride. Sure, the U.S. would make a good and clearly able host for the event, but it seems that the potential of the World Cup could be better directed towards a country that really needs large-scale civic improvement and investment.

April 16 - Nate Berg

BLOG POST

<p> With just two weeks to go in my second semester, I like to think that I know just about everything about being a planning student by now. But when 100+ prospective students came to our campus open house last week, an easy question stumped me: </p> <p> “What about drawing?” </p> <p> At first I thought she was asking if she needed to have an art background coming into school. A thousand times, no. But instead she was looking to <em>learn</em> how to draw as a planner, which is a much trickier proposition. </p>

April 15 - Jeffrey Barg

A judge has ruled against parts of SB 1818, a density bonus law that allows taller building limits in exchange for affordable housing units.

April 15 - Los Angeles Times

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency is offering Katrina cottage dwellers the chance to buy up their units. But will these "shotgun shacks" ever be considered legitimate homes?

April 15 - Governing

BLOG POST

<p> <span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Verdana">An article posted <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/09/shipping-pollution"><span style="color: #800080">last week</span></a> by the Guardian and highlighted <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/cargo-ship-emissions-more-than-760-million-cars.php"><span style="color: #800080">yesterday</span></a> by Treehugger.com cites recent studies as well as data from maritime industry sources that the combination of quantity and quality of low-grade bunker fuel used in the massive engines of freight vessels may result in more emissions than all the cars in the world!  I don’t mean to wax sensationalist here, this is what is stated in the article.  If the truth is anywhere near the statement, then the idea of

April 15 - Ian Sacs

An antiquated set of zoning laws has been at the heart of a debate between preservationists and developers in Oakland for years, though a compromise in the form of new zoning rules may be in the city's near future.

April 15 - San Francisco Chronicle

States ready to go forward with highway projects are seeing equally eager construction companies put in bids as low as 50% below budget, and far ahead of schedule.

April 15 - Los Angeles Times

Portland urban designer Arun Jain has released his Urban Design Framework, a vision that requires planners to give themselves more leeway "without giving up core values."

April 15 - Daily Journal of Commerce

BLOG POST

<p> It’s always tempting returning from a vacation to a foreign country to come to conclusions about how that society works. This isn’t entirely a bad thing- after all, exposure to different ways of life are mind-expanding and suggest new possibilities. My first trip to Rome redefined the way I think of public space, and set me on a path  leading to a career in urban planning. </p> <p> <img src="/files/20090415_philosophers2.jpg" alt="Along the Philosopher's Walk in Kyoto." title="Along the Philosopher's Walk in Kyoto." width="438" height="329" /> </p> <p> <em>Along the Philosopher&#39;s Walk in Kyoto.</em> </p>

April 15 - Tim Halbur

The Southern Nevada Water Authority is officially opposing the residential use of gray water, arguing that it diminishes the replenishment of Lake Mead and, ironically, discourages water conservation.

April 15 - Las Vegas Sun