The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>Motorists in Oregon, Washington and Idaho are using less gas per week than the average American. A recent report credits the region's public transit systems and land use policies for the reduction in fuel consumption.</p>

April 22 - The Oregonian

<p>With the nation's infrastructure in dire need of investment, a debate over the need to raise the federal gas tax is brewing in Washington, D.C.</p>

April 22 - CNN Money

BLOG POST

<p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial">Since its launch, one of the three primary goals of Vancouver&#39;s <strong><a href="http://www.vancouver-ecodensity.ca/">EcoDensity Initiative</a> </strong>has been to use density, design and land use to strategically assist with the City&#39;s growing challenges around affordability. Over the course of the long public dialogue, we&#39;ve heard many comments and questions on the relationships between density, supply, type of housing and affordability, and it’s been a very hot topic. </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial"> </span> </p>

April 22 - Brent Toderian

<p>Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) chastises those whom he calls the "homeownership ideologues" for promoting homeownership to lower income households.</p>

April 22 - Truthout

<p>New York's newest force of foresters, hired to plant one million trees in all five boroughs by 2017, are receiving more opposition then one might expect.</p>

April 22 - The New York Times

<p>Seattle's new light rail line is poised to usher in a new era for Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Though most are excited about the new development, the fear of gentrification has made some residents worry that they won't be around to reap the benefits.</p>

April 22 - The Seattle Times

<p>In Somerville, Massachusetts, a group of community residents -- many of them professional architects and planners -- have organized themselves to help the city address problems in their neighborhood.</p>

April 22 - The Boston Globe

<p>The Winnipeg Free Press responds to the announcement that the city's top planning post has been given to a developer.</p>

April 22 - The Winnipeg Free Press

BLOG POST

<p> One of the most influential pieces of contemporary urban theory I've ever read was a short monograph by Richard Norton entitled "Feral Cities", which <a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JIW/is_4_56/ai_110458726">appeared in the Naval War College Review</a> in 2003. Norton described feral cities thusly: </p><p> "Imagine a great metropolis covering hundreds of square miles. Once a vital component in a national economy, this sprawling urban environment is now a vast collection of blighted buildings, an immense petri dish of both ancient and new diseases, a territory where the rule of law has long been replaced by near anarchy in which the only security available is that which is attained through brute power." </p>

April 22 - Anthony Townsend

<p>After a recent audit revealed that long-time problems that have plagued the city's planning division, local leaders are taking action to remedy the situation.</p>

April 22 - Deseret News

<p>Officials forecast need to adapt development model: to retreat from some areas, build in others, and reduce reliance on cars.</p>

April 22 - The San Francisco Chronicle

<p>Urban infill developments are slated to transform the vast industrial land between Charleston and North Charleston, South Carolina, known as "the Neck" area, into live-work communities that stitch the two cities together.</p>

April 22 - Charleston Business Journal

<p>Winnipeg, Manitoba has selected a local developer to fill the city's top planning job, with some left wondering what direction the city's growth will take under the new director.</p>

April 21 - Winnepeg Free Press

<p>With Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan defeated, can the city's vision for long-term sustainability be achieved?</p>

April 21 - The Gotham Gazette

BLOG POST

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Many viewers may not fully appreciate movies as a visual story-telling medium, but that fact came home to me dramatically the other night while watching “</font><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0467406/"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3" color="#800080">Juno</font></a><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">,” the off beat, smart and funny film that just snagged a best screenplay Oscar. The deliberate use of architecture and public spaces, in particular, was quite effective although you probably won’t find these references in plot summaries or synopses. </font> </p>

April 21 - Samuel Staley

<p>A recent working paper considers the implications of housing the nation's aging population.</p>

April 21 - Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

<p>While The New Urbanism has certainly helped to change the way people think about how communities can be built, it's still seen as a boutique product. More needs to be done if New Urbanist developments are to really compete with mainstream sprawl.</p>

April 21 - City Journal

<p>With planning likely to become a major issue in next year's mayoral campaign, a recent survey shows that most residents would support new rules -- including possibly land use zoning -- to manage the region's sprawling development.</p>

April 21 - The Houston Chronicle

<p>A recent editorial argues that Detroit must look for ways to concentrate its dwindling population in a smaller, more compact city if it is to survive.</p>

April 21 - The Detroit Free Press

<p>Forget congestion pricing and higher gas taxes -- accurately priced pay-as-you-go auto insurance might be the best financial incentive tool for encouraging people to change their driving habits.</p>

April 21 - The New York Times Magazine