The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Devastated train commuters in Southern California rode the rails again today, comforting friends after last week's accident that left 25 dead.

September 15 - Los Angeles Times

A new study has found that almost 30% of the public space in New York's financial district has limited access or is completely closed to the public.

September 15 - Crain's New York Business

"Good Morning America" in cooperation with Amtrak will launch a 'Whistle-Stop' Tour at Grand Central Station on Mon, Sept. 15 - one full week live, two hours daily from a moving train featuring five station stops, making for a 'technology first'.

September 15 - ABC News

Across the country, the billboard industry is fighting to prohibit tree planting on public spaces that might block their billboards.

September 15 - On The Commons

Don Norte of the West Hollywood Dept. of Public Works argues that before cities can cut parking, they need to have good transit. Don Shoup counters that in that case, behavior will never change.

September 15 - Parking Today

This article from <em>Next American City</em> looks at rising ridership on Amtrak and how the train operator is not quite ready to handle it.

September 15 - Next American City

FEATURE

Chuck Donley argues that planners should get over their fear of being pigeonholed as "the technically-savvy" one in the office and learn to embrace new graphics technologies like Google Earth.

September 15 - Chuck Donley

A committee in the European Parliament endorsed a plan that calls for 10% of transportation fuels to come from sources such as plants and grains by 2020, but it also calls for a switch to other renewable sources over time.

September 15 - The New York Times

BLOG POST

<p> The battle for the White House has reached my inbox, as even listservs about urbanism crackle with endorsements and denunciations of Obama, McCain, Palin, etc. <br /> <br /> But all of this frenzied activity assumes that what a President says or thinks is particularly relevant to urban issues.  But this need not be so.  The policy areas most relevant to sprawl and urbanism, land use and transportation, are not likely to be directly affected by the results of the presidential election.  <br /> <br /> In particular, zoning and similar land use issues are generally addressed by state and local governments.  Even the most pro-urban president is unlikely to take on anti-infill NIMBYism (1), make strip malls more walkable. or make streets narrower.  <br />

September 15 - Michael Lewyn

BLOG POST

<p> Earlier this month, researchers performed a test run of a bus that basically drives itself. It follows a line of magnets embedded in the pavement, coursing exactly along its route and eventually to the bus stop. The tiny magnets on the bus and in the street guide the bus to the perfect parking position at the stop for picking up passengers. It&#39;s a cool idea, and a lot of transit agencies are interested. But there are wider applications. Take, for example, my neighborhood, where nobody knows how to park.<br />

September 14 - Nate Berg

Ethisphere looks at sustainability plans for large cities around the world and picks out the best ten large and mid-sized cities.

September 14 - Ethisphere

The issue of population growth and its impact on society has been a taboo for decades. Neal Peirce jumps head first into this thorny issue.

September 14 - Citiwire.net

Geographical differences in personality types have been mapped by researchers, showing which parts of the country are more stressed, more curious, and more agreeable.

September 14 - Telegraph

The Chicago Housing Authority is considering tearing down a 300-unit public housing project, with a vote expected Tuesday. Residents are understandably unhappy, and advocates say the demand for affordable housing is already greater than supply.

September 14 - Chicago Tribune

Calgary has the largest ecological footprint of any large Canadian municipality. The city council is trying to fix that history with Plan It Calgary, a new land use and transportation plan- and developers are none too pleased.

September 14 - Fast Forward Weekly

The Cambodian city of Siem Reap is a hotbed of tourist activity -- and of tacky hotels. Many say this sprawl of hotels is a major problem in the city, but new designs are making the city a cooler place to visit and live.

September 13 - The Phnom Penh Post

BLOG POST

As the summer winds down, here are a list of the five funniest urban planning videos I&#39;ve found on YouTube over the years, covering news for Planetizen.

September 13 - Chris Steins

Floodplain development has proven time and time again to be big trouble when heavy rains come. But in Britain, that's not stopping it.

September 13 - Guardian

Philadelphia is still trying to figure out where to put its two approved casinos as it prepares to become the nation's biggest city to host gambling. In this piece, Inga Saffron says a new proposed site could make gambling work for Philly.

September 13 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

The city of Cincinnati is launching a new pilot program to introduce on-street parking options for scooters, mopeds, bicycles and other two-wheeled transportation alternatives.

September 13 - Cincinnati Business Courier