The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Development has been creeping closer and closer to Palo Duro Canyon in Texas, the country's second biggest canyon. But despite a recent sale of nearby land to developers, preservationists have secured the deed to prevent sprawl from moving in.

November 16 - NPR

The underground missile silos of the Cold War-era are still around, but they're not being used. Some people have moved in to reuse one in Kansas as a home.

November 16 - Studio 360

Dismissed earlier in the year as a method too slow to revive the economy, infrastructure investment is now receiving renewed attention as a bailout for the country.

November 16 - Nate Berg

Just as good economic times pushed housing sizes to mansion-like proportions, the downturn in the economy will force builders and consumers to size down and get energy efficient, according to this commentary from James S. Russell.

November 16 - Bloomberg

The global economic crisis and rapidly dropping oil prices are spelling trouble for the alternative energy sector.

November 15 - Globe and Mail

Officials in Austin, Texas, are drafting what's believed to be the nation's most substantive sustainability policy for special events--including measures to reduce waste and conserve water and energy.

November 15 - Austin American-Statesman

Besides Chicago, another Daniel Burnham-planned city is turning 100. Baguio City in the Philippines will turn 100 in 2009, and local planners are trying to apply urban reform elements from Burnham's original plan in time for the celebration.

November 15 - Philippine Daily Inquirer

Strip malls could be the next frontier for urban redevelopment, according to Chris Nelson.

November 15 - The Oregonian

Native of the bustling United Arab Emirates are cheering the global economic slowdown, crediting it for curbing development in its cities that had been blamed for destroying much of their local heritage.

November 15 - The New York Times

The Magic Power System plugs into your car's 12v port, and purportedly improves your gas mileage by 30%, increases torque, reduces emissions, improves car audio quality, and cleans the entire car 'electrically'.

November 14 - Boing Boing

New developments in Oakland and San Francisco are luring in eco-conscious homeseekers with free transit passes and discounts on carsharing programs.

November 14 - San Francisco Business Times

The two owners of a traditional 8-acre strip, big box retail center in San Francisco have asked for an amendment to the neighborhood plan (undergoing revision) to allow them to add housing on top of their stores, thus doubling the height limit.

November 14 - San Francisco Examiner

The idea of city autonomy is increasingly unrealistic, according to a new book by University of Western Ontario professor Andrew Sancton.

November 14 - The Globe and Mail

At lunchtime, traffic in Tysons Corner is even worse than during the morning commute, causing officials to launch a lunchtime shuttle to keep more cars off the road.

November 14 - The Washington Post

California's $10 billion high speed rail bond was not the only transit initiative to pass on Election Day. Over 70% (double the customary rate) of all transportation initiatives passed, including 18 that raise sales or property taxes.

November 14 - The Wall Street Journal

An industry expert predicted at ULI's fall meeting that the new home market could pick back up by 2010, followed by a rally in the resale market in 2011.

November 14 - ULI's The Ground Floor

BLOG POST

<p> Hey, have you heard we’re all screwed? </p> <p> Last week Penn hosted the “Reimagining Cities: Urban Design After the Age of Oil” conference. If you were there, or if you read the <a href="http://americancity.org/afteroil/">liveblog</a> of the event, you saw speaker after speaker tell of the doom and gloom facing the planet. <em>Climate change</em>! <em>Carbon emissions</em>! <em>Decaying infrastructure</em>! <em>Nine billion people</em>! In the words of the classical philosopher Shawn Carter, we got 99 problems, but a bitch ain’t one. </p> <p> Frankly, it’s all a little depressing. </p>

November 14 - Jeffrey Barg

Valued at more than $115 million during the boom, a prominent Hong Kong-based developer has bought the unbuilt Brickell CitiCentre development site for $41.3 million. Similar transactions are happening on other key properties in Miami's downtown.

November 14 - Miami Herald

The new master plan for Ottawa calls for a radical rethink of priorities, postponing at least $84 million in road building to focus on creating a 'compact, transit city'.

November 14 - The Ottawa Citizen

Mecklenberg County, NC has created a program to encourage kids to walk to school in an attempt to curb obesity, but they're finding that the road to good intentions isn't properly paved.

November 14 - The Naked City