The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Politicians Call on Seattle to Think Creatively About Freeway Problem
<p>In this guest column, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, and King County Executive Ron Sims argue that Seattle needs to find a creative solution to the problem posed by its aging inner-city freeway.</p>
BLOG POST
Gas Prices Up a Nickel, It Must be Friday
<p> America is facing more than just gasoline price inflation. The contemporary media is overwhelmed with stories on the impacts of higher fuel prices. The fingers are pointing in every direction. Planners are proposing everything from 50 year transit plans to build a handful of rail lines to forecasting a radical transformation of urban form and travel behavior. After exhaustive research to understand consumer responses to higher energy prices the analysis is complete and the results are in. </p>
Cities Seek Ways to Fight Growing Housing Blight
<p>In California's Inland Empire, abandoned houses are plentiful- the fallout from the subprime mortgage mess. Bill Fulton reports on what some cites are doing to keep the abandoned houses from dragging down neighborhoods.</p>
Young Author Writes About Human Impact of Sprawl
<p>Gina Olszowski's first book focuses on the personal stories of rural residents impacted by sprawl.</p>
Sweden Creates Sewage-Powered Cars, But Auto Industry Lags Behind
<p>Household sewage is currently fueling cars in Sweden, and has for years. But Swedish industry has given up on the idea, investing in ethanol-based gasoline.</p>
A Laser Light Show in the Crosswalk
<p>Will laser-projected pedestrians make crossing the street safer in South Korea?</p>
Challenges Ahead for Tyson's Corner To Become Livable City
<p>Tyson's Corner, an auto-oriented suburb of Washington, D.C., reveals ambitious plans to become a dense, urban community. Officials are bracing themselves for tough opposition from locals. The Washington Post story includes a video report.</p>
Toilet-To-Tap: Getting Past The 'Yuck Factor'
<p>As the cities in the arid Western United States face huge water shortages, officials and scientists are trying to convince the public that recycled wastewater can be clean and safe.</p>
Surging Fuel Prices Spur Green Backlash in Europe
<p>With dramatically increasing fuel costs, European consumers formerly amenable to "green" taxes are turning against them, leading to fears that ambitious emission-control policies may not be achievable.</p>
Big Box Thinking When Siting Schools is Creating Sprawl
<p>New schools are consistently built far from community centers, while historic school buildings near where people live are demolished, The Blue Ridge Press reports.</p>
L.A. Called Home to Second Smallest Carbon Footprint
<p>New research from the Brookings Institution claims that Los Angeles has the second smallest carbon footprint of big American cities -- a finding that contains a few caveats.</p>
Homelessness Continues to Plague New Orleans
<p>By some counts, the number of homeless people in New Orleans has more than doubled since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. Aid workers are hoping a bill in Congress will bring extra aid to the struggling city.</p>
The Job Of Quenching Las Vegas' Thirst
<p>With some predicting that this fast growing metropolis will run out of water within the decade, the head of the region's water authority has a tough job ahead.</p>
Harvesting the Wind on the Open Ocean
<p>Offshore drilling company StatoilHydro is finding a new way to get energy at sea- with large-scale wind turbines.</p>
Did Houston's Lack Of Zoning Shield It From The Housing Meltdown?
<p>A recent report by a Federal Reserve Bank senior economist argues that Houston's resiliency during the ongoing housing crisis is due in part to its lack of zoning regulations.</p>
A 'One Size Fits All' Rule For Affordable Housing Doesn't Work
<p>Requiring all cities and towns to building affordable housing is bad policy. The focus should be on building housing in existing urban areas near jobs and transit, not in rural and suburban towns.</p>
Will Bay Area Transit Riders Get Wi-Fi?
<p>BART, the region's rail transit agency, is negotiating with a private company to install a wireless network that would allow riders to check email and access the Internet.</p>
BLOG POST
How to teach about sprawl
<p> Today, I turned in my grades for my seminar on "Sprawl and the Law." It occurred to me that some readers of this blog might be academics, and might be interested on how one can teach a course on sprawl. </p> <p> I began by defining the issue. As I pointed out in an earlier post (at <a href="/node/31063)"><u><span style="color: #0000ff">http://www.planetizen.com/node/31063)</span></u></a> the term "sprawl" has two common meanings: where we grow (city or suburb) and how we grow (pedestrian-friendly or automobile-dependent). Policies that affect the first type of "sprawl" need not affect the second (and vice versa). </p>
From Superfund To Super Fun
<p>The City of Saco, Maine is turning land the federal government once labeled a toxic Superfund site into a hub for hiking, fishing, and recreation.</p>
A Small Town From Scratch
<p>Developer Casey Roloff has built an ambitious new community on the Washington coast with New Urbanist ideas and a Northwest flavor.</p>
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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