The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>Formerly small towns near Boston have experienced high growth rates in recent years. But despite their potential to keep growing, water supplies and aging infrastructure will likely be a limiting factor.</p>

July 11 - The Boston Globe

<p>Harlem is undergoing a rapid change in terms of demographics and income levels. One real estate broker is at the front of driving this change, and many in the neighborhood are not happy about it. But is this change avoidable?</p>

July 11 - New York Magazine

<p>Landscape architects aren't typically well known, but their work is a major part of many peoples' lives. As urbanization increases, their influence on city dwellers will become more noticeable, according to this article.</p>

July 11 - The Vancouver Courier

<p>When California declared a statewide drought, a couple decided to let their front lawn die.</p>

July 10 - RedOrbit

<p>Long considered the source of California's fiscal and land use woes, Proposition 13, passed by voters in 1978, limits increases in property tax. However, it may prove to be an 'economic stabilizer' during the current housing slump.</p>

July 10 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>For the New Statesman's Andrew Stephen, last month's power failure in Washington D.C. exemplified the deterioration of America's infrastructure, which he likens to conditions he found in the dying days of the Soviet Union.</p>

July 10 - New Statesman

<p>After significant debate, the Pacheco pass route has been approved for the high-speed train between Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Next step: pass a $10 billion proposition on the November ballot.</p>

July 10 - San Jose Mercury News

<p>The number of retirement communities is growing rapidly. Author Andrew D. Blechman warns about the social cost of age-segregation.</p>

July 10 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>Vancouver's South East False Creek community is making the production of food one of the major aspects of its preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Its emphasis on local food production is a model other cities may look to follow.</p>

July 10 - BBC

<p>Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë has proposed abandoning the city's long-held building height restriction of 37 meters, citing the city's need to grow.</p>

July 10 - Telegraph

<p>In this column from <em>Governing</em>, Peter Harkness looks at the increasing influence and power of metropolitan areas.</p>

July 10 - Governing

<p>London's new mayor is considering a plan to tone down the city's congestion charge system, reducing fees during certain hours.</p>

July 10 - The Times (UK)

FEATURE

July 10 - Ellen Gould and Andrew Pask

<p>Officials in Africa have approved a plan to plant a "wall of trees" across the continent to prevent the southward spread of the Sahara desert due to winds and drought.</p>

July 10 - Environmental News Network

<p>Lacking good public transit connections, residents of Red Hook, New York are taking advantage of the free bus and water taxi service recently launched by the Swedish retail giant to bring customers to its new store in the neighborhood.</p>

July 9 - New York Daily News

BLOG POST

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman">The newest Drew Carey video at </span><a href="http://www.reason.tv/"><span style="font-size: small; color: #800080; font-family: Times New Roman">Reason.tv</span></a><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman">—</span><a href="http://www.reason.tv/video/show/451.html"><span style="font-size: small; color: #800080; font-family: Times New Roman">Mexicans and Machines: Why Its Time to Lay Off NAFTA</span></a><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman">—is (IMHO) brilliant, and triggered more than a couple of thoughts about how technology and progress creates practical challenges for planning. </span> </p>

July 9 - Samuel Staley

<p>How often does one hear that transit is somehow a less respectable form of transportation than driving because of the "massive subsidies" transit receives? Well, a new study by Texas DOT says that highways don't pay for themselves either.</p>

July 9 - la.streetsblog.org

<p>Stakeholders in Austin debate the future of a public golf course in the center of town while the University of Texas, owner of the land, debates whether to seek greater profits off the land. Neighbors champion the course as vital open space.</p>

July 9 - Austin American-Statesman

<p>The 'Nano', a tiny car that gets 47 miles to the gallon and has low emissions, is hitting the Indian market. Environmentalists worry that the car's advantages will be outweighed by the increase in car ownership it may bring to the country.</p>

July 9 - NPR

<p>Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer notes high gas prices are doing what Congress has taken decades to do – make the vehicle fleet more fuel efficient. He sees Congress repeating the mistake now with cap and trade - instead of gas taxes.</p>

July 9 - The Washington Post