The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Landscape architect James Corner pushes the envelope of the field to create innovative projects like The High Line Park in New York. 'There is a desperate need for a different kind of professional who isn’t so Balkan­ized.'

November 20 - Metropolis

As it prepares to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, the beachfront Russian city of Sochi is hoping to become an attractive resort city. Money is flowing and development is under way, but some expect growing pains.

November 20 - The New York Times

New bridge plans for the New York community of City Island has residents up in arms over what they see as an incompatible design.

November 20 - The New York Times

An Eero Saarinen house in Indiana has been acquired by the Indianapolis Museum of Arts in a cross effort to preserve and exhibit the famous work. Christopher Hawthonre wonders if this could be a model other cities and museums should follow.

November 20 - Los Angeles Times

The scourge of the pine beetle is wreaking havoc on forests all up and down North America, leaving behind millions of acres of dead trees.

November 20 - The New York Times

BLOG POST

<blockquote> <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman">A paradigm shift is changing the way we think about transportation safety. In the past, traffic safety experts evaluated risk using distance-based units (traffic crashes and casualties per 100 million vehicle-miles or billion vehicle-kilometers), which ignores increases in vehicle traffic as a risk factor, and mobility management as a safety strategy. Yet, we now have overwhelming evidence that the amount people drive has a major impact on their chance of being injured or killed in a traffic accident. Here is a small portion of the evidence:</span> </p>

November 19 - Todd Litman

The economic recession will mean tough times for architects, who saw jobs cut by more than 40% during the last slump. Many in the field are wondering whether many architects will survive the current situation.

November 19 - Guardian

Views are already beginning to clash as the California high-speed rail project begins its development process. But until environmental and design reports are available, many questions are to be left unanswered.

November 19 - Palo Alto Daily News

Bill Scher believes that public investments in infrastructure will be a hallmark of the incoming administration, and suggests that it should be a point of political unity.

November 19 - Campaign for America's Future

While the goal of these walkable communities is to attract young urban professionals, the benefits, of course, extend beyond that.

November 19 - The Columbus Dispatch

The New York City Housing Authority is using a new strategy to develop new housing by selling open space. HUD oversees how the development works, but some think it does not offer a fair opportunity for community participation.

November 19 - City Limits Weekly

After a church in Denver was denied permission to expand its facilities, they filed a lawsuit against Boulder County on charges of discrimination. This month, the case reached a federal courtroom.

November 19 - Los Angeles Times

Authors of a recent study have concluded that California is unprepared to face global warming challenges, and water and electricity agencies in particular have been urged to act immediately.

November 19 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Planners and parks officials in San Francisco are making moves to reimagine currently underused public space in the heart of the city as a new civic park and gathering place.

November 19 - San Francisco Chronicle

Since its completion, Boston's Big Dig freeway project has succeeded in reducing congestion downtown, but new figures show the congestion has merely moved out of the central city into suburban areas.

November 19 - The Boston Globe

The historic city of Venice has largely been free from outdoor advertising, but a new deal with the city allows billboards to be placed on scaffolding set up for building renovations. Locals are not very happy about the change.

November 19 - The Art Newspaper

FEATURE

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has a plan to help the nation's hardest hit homeowners and neighborhoods. But by concentrating assistance in the most devastated areas, few places will be saved, writes Charles Buki.

November 19 - Charles Buki

Nicolai Ouroussoff tells the tale of Buffalo, a quintessential rust belt city that seems committed to preserving its architectural heritage but unsure about its future.

November 18 - The New York Times

Calgary is poised to make itself into a city that encourages density without sacrificing too much of the leg room currently offered by existing suburbs.

November 18 - Calgary Herald

Environmental groups aren't happy to hear that Yellowstone officials may be installing more cellphone towers and providing wireless internet in the near future, fearing that the technology will detract from and destroy the park's natural scenery.

November 18 - Los Angeles Times