The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Florida To Buy Large Swath of Sugar Land Near Everglades

<p>In a deal with a large sugar farming operation, the state of Florida will buy up 187,000 acres of land near the Everglades -- a move environmentalists are applauding.</p>

June 25 - The New York Times

Bored With Your View? Rotate Your Apartment

<p>The world's first moving building, a 80-storey tower with revolving floors giving an shifting shape, will be built in Dubai, its architect says.</p>

June 25 - BBC

Can Planning Happen More Quickly?

<p>Members of the British Parliament attempt to speed up the process for planning major projects. But some advocates and observers fear the public's voice will be muted.</p>

June 25 - BBC

The Rebirth of the Electric Car

<p>In a bold move likened in this article to the Apollo program, General Motors is throwing everything it has into the development of the Volt, a revolutionary plug-in electric hybrid.</p>

June 25 - Atlantic Monthly

BLOG POST

Why Transit is an 'Inferior Good'

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman">In my last post, I suggested that transit’s “resurgence” is, ultimately, much ado about nothing. Transit’s increased ridership, while important for transit managers, will do little to change fundamental travel patterns of US urban areas. </span> </p>

June 25 - Samuel Staley


Evicted Residents Want Their History Portrayed Accurately

<p>Kentucky and Tennessee residents who were evicted in the 1960s to make way for a nature preserve are fighting to make sure their history is accurately represented in historical markers and visitor centers at the site.</p>

June 25 - Knoxville News Sentinel

Foreclose This!

<p>A homeowner on the verge of foreclosure in Las Vegas is not going down without a fight. He is literally destroying his home from the inside out.</p>

June 25 - CBS 8 Las Vegas


Skirting Process, Bremerton Makes Beautiful Public Spaces

<p>Landscape architect Gary Sexton worked on a tight budget and dodged commissions and regulations to create a beautiful vision for downtown Bremerton (near Seattle).</p>

June 25 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Gas Pipelines Through Neighborhoods Are A Difficult Proposition

<p>Fort Worth, Texas officials try to tackle the thorny issue of gas pipelines snaking through residential neighborhoods.</p>

June 25 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Would Starbucks and Designer Interiors Get You to Ride Transit?

<p>Toronto's Metrolink brings together city and transportation planners to brainstorm the transit of the future.</p>

June 25 - The Toronto Star

New San Francisco Parks Key to Neighborhood Vibrancy

<p>Two new parks in San Francisco show how great neighborhoods are defined by their public spaces, according to this article from the <em>San Francisco Chronicle</em>.</p>

June 25 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Paris Plans Green Car Sharing System

<p>Following on the success of its bike-sharing system, Paris is planning to unveil a citywide green car-sharing system.</p>

June 24 - The Guardian

The Transformation of a Neighborhood

<p>Steven Malanga writes about the resurrection of Bushwick, a Brooklyn neighborhood, from its decrepit past.</p>

June 24 - City Journal

Vancouverism on Exhibition

<p>An unusual art installation in Trafalgar Square draws attention to Vancouverism: Westcoast Architecture and City Building, an exhibition about the city's achievements in urban development, engineering and architecture.</p>

June 24 - The Vancouver Sun

Boston Artist District Battles Gentrification

<p>Boston's Fort Point Channel neighborhood, New England's largest artist community, is struggling to retain its identity as developers continue to transform studio space into condominiums.</p>

June 24 - The Boston Globe

Freeway Expansion Leads to Increased Traffic

<p>A year after a new freeway was completed in Southern California, traffic data shows increased use. Officials plan to widen the freeway to handle the increased load.</p>

June 24 - The San Bernardino Sun

BLOG POST

The Quest for Energy: The Input/Output Problem

<p> In August of 2006, an unknown Irish company called Steorn took out a full-page ad in The Economist to announce that they had created a magnetic technology that produced more energy than it used- essentially, a perpetual motion machine, the Holy Grail of energy. </p>

June 24 - Tim Halbur

Lego Living: Shipping Containers Become Affordable Housing

<p>A developer in New Jersey is looking to shipping containers as building blocks for affordable housing.</p>

June 24 - Courier-Post

The Housing Bubble as a Social Phenomenon

<p>In this excerpt from his forthcoming book, Subprime Solution, economist Robert J. Shiller writes of our tendency to succumb to "bubble thinking," and the role this has played in the current mortgage crisis.</p>

June 24 - Atlantic Monthly

BLOG POST

Learning from exam schools

<p> Yesterday’s Washington Post contained <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/23/AR2008062300297.html?hpid=news-col-blog">a list of elite public schools</a>- schools where the average student SAT is over 1300. Since suburban schools generally have better reputations than urban schools, one might expect that all the schools on the list would be in prestigious suburban school districts. But in fact, this is not the case. Three New York City schools (Stuyvestant, Hunter College, Bronx High) and one school near downtown Richmond (Maggie Walker) are on the high-SAT list- despite the fact that the New York City and Richmond school districts, like nearly all urban school districts, have mediocre reputations. </p>

June 24 - Michael Lewyn

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Senior Manager Operations, Urban Planning

New York City School Construction Authority

Building Inspector

Village of Glen Ellyn

Manager of Model Development

Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO

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