The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

How do you turn a cul-de-sac into a commune? It's easier than you think, according to this piece from NPR.

April 4 - NPR

Apropos to the debates dominating the G20 conference in London, former U.S. Trade Rep and Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor argues for trade as the centerpiece of economic and environmental sustainability.

April 4 - The Planning Report

This piece from <em>The Onion</em> presents the incredibly simple solution to the nation's economic troubles: build more houses.

April 3 - The Onion

The city of Vancouver is hoping to reduce its energy use and carbon emissions by hiring a goat to maintain the grounds at city hall. Though the mayor wants to expand the goat program to schools and parks, some have reservations.

April 3 - The Vancouver Courier

Florida's real estate meltdown is leading to a second crisis: so many condo owners have stopped paying their fees that associations have had to cut back on maintenance and repairs, leading some to fear a "death spiral" for condos.

April 3 - Yahoo! News

An exit interview with Tom Graff, who joined Environmental Defense Fund in 1971, when the environmental movement was just getting started.

April 3 - The Planning Report

Ypsilanti, Michigan, has been a GM factory town for more than 50 years. With the recent ouster of GM CEO Rick Wagoner by the federal government, many in the oft-shaken town are worried about its future.

April 3 - Los Angeles Times

Urban policy is looking to be a major element of President Barack Obama's administration. Though it hasn't quite taken shape yet, this piece argues it's a good sign for cities and metropolitan regions.

April 3 - Governing

The state of Florida has announced plans to drastically scale back efforts to buy and preserve land in the Everglades.

April 3 - The New York Times

BLOG POST

<!--StartFragment--><p style="text-indent: 0.5in" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size: 16px" class="Apple-style-span">The American economy has long relied upon technological innovation to drive its economy. Today,basic investment in science and technology is once again taking center stage,as a cure for both our economic and environmental ills.</span></p>

April 3 - Anthony Townsend

Portland's Metro authority is mapping out the region's transit plans for the next 30 years, and the public is getting involved.

April 3 - The Oregonian

The Waxman-Markey bill doesn't apportion the revenues received from the sale of carbon credits, a key issue yet to be decided. Renewable electricity, greener cars, low carbon fuels, and a carbon reduction goal are all parts of this comprehensive bill

April 3 - The New York Times

According to this opinion piece, planners must ease up on "big bang" planning--an approach centered around sweeping changes with fixed ideas of what the outcome must look like.

April 3 - Archinect

Big-name and big-budget projects in New York are basking in the spotlight, but smaller, community-based projects are also flourishing in the Bronx.

April 2 - The Architect's Newspaper

Nicolai Ouroussof uses four cities--New Orleans, Los Angeles, The Bronx, and Buffalo--as case studies on how America's urban areas, long neglected, can once again be great.

April 2 - The New York Times

BLOG POST

<p> Amid the stimulus-backed hullabaloo over high speed rail, perhaps efforts by municipalities to supplant old-school diesel with new era electric bus fleets have been overshadowed.  Maybe it is still too soon, but there has been little media coverage on cities making the switch from diesel to hybrid or electric buses; however, with the money that is being pumped in, and the major shift in national perspective on the importance of sustainability, energy efficiency, and pollution reduction, now is the time to bypass the delays of a hybrid “stepping stone” and leap straight for all-electric transit systems. </p>

April 2 - Ian Sacs

BLOG POST

<p> A grad student in our program at Ball State told me several months ago that he wanted to do his creative project (a thesis alternative) on “low impact development.” His particular interest was in what we called “natural drainage systems” when I worked with the planners and landscape architects at Rahenkamp, Sachs Wells in Philadelphia 30 years ago.<span>  </span>I told him that it was a great topic and suggested some contemporary and older resources, including an excellent 1975 publication by the Urban Land Institute entitled <em>Residential Storm Water Management.</em> I also told the student that the big issue with such systems is maintenance. </p>

April 2 - Eric Damian Kelly

Amid growing concern that downtown Vancouver's mandated view corridors cost too much development while making too little sense, its planners are once again debating their necessity.

April 2 - The Globe and Mail

In the second part of this Streetsblog interview, CNU President John Norquist discusses his tenure as mayor of Milwaukee and the politics behind making cities more transit-oriented and walkable.

April 2 - Streetsblog

The MacArthur Foundation has announced it will give $32 million in grants and loans to preserve and create affordable public housing through HUD, in addition to the $4 billion allotted to the agency from the stimulus bill.

April 2 - Architectural Record