The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The federal government has blocked plans to build a 16-mile road through a Southern California state park, mainly over environmental concerns.

December 23 - San Francisco Chronicle

This column from <em>The Tyee</em> looks at the architecture for Vancouver's 2010 Olympic games and is not impressed.

December 23 - The Tyee

The Bush Administration's ideology of homeownership combined with a lack of oversight contributed significantly to the collapse of the housing market and the present economic crisis, according to this New York Times investigation.

December 22 - New York Times

With a record amount of commercial real-estate debt coming due, some of the country's biggest property developers have become the latest to go hat-in-hand to the government for assistance.

December 22 - The Wall St. Journal

The Pulitzer-prizing winning auto columnist for the LA Times reviews the hybrid version 2010 Ford Fusion - a car that shows Washington it is on the right track, even if a tad late. Neil highlights the importance of its nickel battery technology.

December 22 - Los Angeles Times

This summer, the provincial government announced a $2 billion public transit fund focused on regional co-operation. Thousands of commuters from bedroom communities around Calgary could benefit from the infrastructure.

December 22 - The Calgary Herald

Amid the citywide blight of Detroit is the City Airport neighborhood -- rife with crime and virtually deserted by residents. But now former residents have begun to write and blog about the neighborhood, its better times and its possible futures.

December 22 - Utne Reader

In spring of next year, Burbank, CA will debut the nation's first lightweight, zero-emissions bus.

December 22 - Mass Transit

Isaiah Poole believes that the Institute for America's Future new "Main Street Recovery Program" provides the incoming administration with a strategy for public investments into America's cities.

December 22 - Campaign for America's Future

FEATURE

The recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai are inspiring calls for heightened security and a less open society. Himanshu Burte argues that this is the wrong approach, and that throwing up boundaries would be a mistake.

December 22 - Himanshu Burte

A building boom and increased competitiveness have contributed to a sixth-year rise in architects' salaries.

December 22 - Architectural Record

In fact, says one planner, suburbs and exurbs can expect to see some of the biggest changes of all, at least from infrastructure and transportation funding.

December 22 - Marketwatch

Detroit's population is rapidly declining, but the answer to revitalizing the city may lie in part in urban farming.

December 22 - The Salt Lake Tribune

Writer Karrie Jacobs (no relation) tours the rapidly-urbanizing cities of Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Dubai. As development forces small neighborhood cultures out, she can't help but wonder what Jane Jacobs would think.

December 21 - Metropolis Magazine

BLOG POST

<p> Four months, thousands of pages and $60 worth of printing later, my first semester of planning school is over. </p> <p> Really? That’s it? </p> <p> Not that I was understimulated. Plenty of big assignments kept me up later than my girlfriend would’ve liked. But in the working world, four months isn’t that long—it’s a big project, a new initiative. In grad school, apparently, it’s reason enough to take a month off. </p> <p> So without any further ado, a few highlights and lowlights from the first semester. Not too many lowlights, though. A few of my professors read this blog. </p>

December 21 - Jeffrey Barg

Cement is everywhere, and the building material makes a huge impact on the environment in terms of emissions, according to the San Francisco Sentinel. This article outlines the cement-making process.

December 21 - San Francisco Sentinel

BLOG POST

<p>In the last six months I have been fortunate to work in a variety of communities - from rural counties in Pennsylvania and Virginia, to small towns and cities in New Mexico and New York, to larger cities in Alaska, Connecticut, and Virginia.  Each place has suddenly been confronted with the advent of new dollars.  New money at any point in time is a valuable, and especially scarce resource.  But in this economy this is even more the case.  As communities are faced with reduced sales and property taxes, and consistent demand for services, any new funds are a welcomed addition to the work of balancing the books.</p>

December 21 - Charles Buki

Legal actions have been brought against more than a dozen Amish residents in Wisconsin and New York for building structures in their traditional style, but without building permits.

December 21 - Associated Press

Nick Paumgarten imagines a New York City landscape that would result from a present-day economic crisis.

December 21 - The New Yorker

A new study from the University of New South Wales has outlined a connection that suggests living farther away from central cities results in higher rates of obesity.

December 21 - Sydney Morning Herald