The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

BLOG POST

<span style="font-size: x-small"> <p> In his annual tour-de-force presentation on the state of Vancouver&#39;s housing market recently, marketing guru Bob Rennie (referred to often as Canada&#39;s &quot;condo king&quot;, and thus often accused of having a vested interest in a continued strong market for condos here in Vancouver) had some new, controversial points that are still being debated locally. Perhaps the most provocative was his call to action for the development industry to get back into building housing that is more affordable to ordinary Vancouverites (as opposed to being geared to the international market - his comment was that we know how to serve that world market, now we need to show that we can serve the local market better, or words to that effect). Given that he included details like &quot;capping developer profit at 10%&quot;, I found his comments pretty brave in front of an audience of 700+ developers and clients. </p>

May 28 - Brent Toderian

<p>Thick congestion has politicians in Budapest looking at ways to improve mobility -- mainly by encouraging bicycle use.</p>

May 28 - AFP

A remnant of Robert Moses' famous push to raze neighborhoods and build highways in their place, the Sheridan Expressway is ripe for revitalization. A local advocate believes that now "the stars are aligned" for it to happen.

May 28 - The Gotham Gazette

<p>The Bush Administration is reportedly considering the creation of some of the world's large marine reserves by using the presidential powers granted by the Antiquities Act of 1906.</p>

May 28 - NPR

<p>Representatives in North Providence, RI are attempting to save a site used for a camp for inner-city youth from developers, and may resort to using eminent domain to do so.</p>

May 28 - www.redorbit.com

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal"> As the northern summer starts, one of the questions I am asked most frequently by current and prospective planning students is: what should I read? A number of resources are available to answer this question. This month I look at general planning readings for a North American audience but in coming months I’ll explore readings about global planning issues, planning methods, and planning classics. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> For those wanting an overview of planning issues, the following lists are good places to start: </p>

May 28 - Ann Forsyth

<p>Columnist E. Thomas McClanahan reviews a new public space in Kansas City, and finds a lot to like in the urban design.</p>

May 28 - The Kansas City Star

<p>Plans to build a massive dam in Turkey have many hopeful that its creation will revive the local economy.</p>

May 28 - The Christian Science Monitor

<p>New York City is trying to make life for bike commuters a little less treacherous by building dedicated bike lanes throughout the city.</p>

May 28 - The Washington Post

<p>The Movement for Israeli Urbanism makes the case that Israel's current planning policies are not sustainable.</p>

May 27 - The Jerusalem Post

<p>In a policy analysis for the Cato Institute, Randal O'Toole reviews plans for more than 75 of the nation's largest metropolitan areas reveals that virtually all of them fail to follow standard planning methods, and half of them are not effective.</p>

May 27 - Cato Institute

<p>The installation of a green roof and solar array on the rooftop of the new WGBH building in Boston is captured on video.</p>

May 27 - The Boston Globe

<p>Mayor Mark Funkhouser's new proposal calls for a regional transit system spanning 119 miles, though it relies on much less light rail than some transit advocates had hoped for.</p>

May 27 - The Kansas City Star

BLOG POST

<p> <span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman">A recent report by the libertarian Cato Institute, </span><a href="http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9325"><span style="font-size: small; color: #800080; font-family: Times New Roman">Does Rail Transit Save Energy or Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions?</span></a><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman">, claims that public transit service improvements are ineffective at conserving energy and reducing pollution emissions. But this conclusion is based on faulty analysis.</span> </p>

May 27 - Todd Litman

<p>This article from the <em>Las Vegas Sun</em> asks whether siting two blatantly different architectural styles right next to each other is necessarily a bad thing.</p>

May 27 - Las Vegas Sun

<p>A local commercial property developer has built two prototype units and announced plans to erect a 62 unit complex -- claiming the factory built units will cost 15 percent less then traditional housing.</p>

May 27 - The Seattle Times

<p>Critics worry that cities who require new developments to meet LEED-ND standards will sacrifice affordable housing for sustainability.</p>

May 27 - Washington Business Journal

<p>This segment from <em>NPR</em> looks at the city of Cleveland and examines how foreclosures have devastated the city and many of its neighborhoods.</p>

May 27 - NPR

<p>San Francisco city planners take a hard line on renovating the city's stock of historic homes. Homeowners, architects, and even preservationists are saying the department has gone too far.</p>

May 27 - The San Francisco Chronicle

<p>The Washington Post's car columnist, Warren Brown, writes about the U.S oil addiction using insightful references to alcoholism -- describing the role of the government, the auto and oil industry, and most importantly, consumers.</p>

May 27 - The Washington Post