The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Good Streets Include Streetcars
<p>Author Alex Marshall calls for the reconstruction of New York City's formerly omnipresent streetcar lines, starting with a Midtown Manhattan loop between 34th and 42nd Streets.</p>
College's Makeover Of Downtown Leaves Residents Sour
<p>A $40 million gift from a wealthy alumna helped Wells College transform the small town of Aurora, New York into a postcard perfect setting. But while enrollment is up, residents say the change hasn't been good for them.</p>
Chinese City To Public: Comments Welcomed
<p>In response to the outcry over a proposed chemical factory, the City of Xiamen has published an environmental impact report and is seeking public input on the project -- something rarely seen in China.</p>
Are Driverless Cars Finally Here?
<p>No longer science fiction, autonomous vehicles have the potential to reshape the transportation landscape. But are drivers ready to let go of the wheel?</p>
Building A Museum Any Planner Could Love
<p>A storefront museum dedicated to the history and development of Reston, Virginia -- one of the nation's first planned new towns -- is set for a major expansion.</p>
Friday Funny: 'Mind Your Mouth'
<p>The voiceover artist famous for reminding passengers to 'mind the gap' on the London Underground was fired after posting a series of subway announcement spoofs on her website.</p>
BLOG POST
Smart Transport Emission Reductions
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Last week I attended the <a href="http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/news.html">NREL Energy Analysis Forum</a>, where leading North American energy analysts discussed current thinking concerning greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies, much of which involves emission cap and trade programs (as summarized in the report by Resources for the Future, "<a href="http://www.rff.org/rff/News/Releases/2007Releases/July2007ClimateChangeBillsinCongress.cfm">Key Congressional Climate Change Legislation Compared</a>"). Similarly, a recent report, "<a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/ccsi/greenhousegas.asp">Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much At What Cost</a>" evaluates emission reduction strategies according to their cost effectiveness.
Developing Affordable Housing In The Suburbs
<p>With more low-income households settling outside of urban centers, planners are faced with the challenge of getting affordable housing built in traditionally upscale suburban communities where zoning has all but forbid low-cost homes.</p>
Mayor To Employees: Get On The Bus
<p>Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels wants city employees to ride the bus to work, and he's proposing giving them free transit passes to make it easier for workers to make the switch.</p>
Gay Bars Disappear, Public Space Suffers
<p>The disappearance of gay bars in the Boston area signals a change in the city's character and the vibrancy of it's public space. In this piece, Robert David Sullivan argues the change is bad for everyone in the city, gay and straight.</p>
Rising Death Toll Inspires Pedestrian Safety Initiative
<p>After a string of pedestrian fatalities, Montgomery County, Maryland, is pushing a broad plan to improve pedestrian safety.</p>
Trading In The Car For A Metro Pass
<p>Tasked with making Los Angeles more pedestrian-friendly, a planner decides to give up his car.</p>
The Latest Home-Based Business: Wineries
<p>Planners in Tacoma, Washington have approved a new ordinance that allows small-scale microwineries to be legally operated out of the home.</p>
China Moves To Protect Farmland With Higher Taxes
<p>To stem the loss of farmland to development, the Chinese government is raising taxes on non-farmed arable land by 500%.</p>
Reorienting Suburbs Toward An Interdependent Future
<p>Created as a celebration of American individualism and consumerism, suburbs will need to reinvent themselves to successfully lead an interdependent world, according to this article from <em>Newsday</em>.</p>
Shifting Priorities In The Great Lakes
<p>Economic priorities in the Great Lakes are shifting away from heavy industrial uses to tourism and real estate development.</p>
GPS Finds Fastest Routes, But Roads Can't Handle Traffic
<p>GPS devices in Britain looking for the best routes possible are directing truck drivers through tiny towns without the proper road space and infrastructure to handle their loads. Some towns are thinking about requesting removal from the map.</p>
Japanese Urban Centers Fading In Rural Prefectures
<p>Smaller cities in rural areas of Japan are being gutted out, as big box centers continue to sprout up outside cities.</p>
Planners Object, But Courts Approve Housing Development
<p>When developers made plans for a housing development on land an Israeli kibbutz had to sell off, planners said the required rezoning was out of the question. But five years later and still without planners' approval, the courts have allowed project.</p>
Holding The Line On Miami-Dade's Urban Development Boundary
<p>Citing strained resources, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez has vetoed a number of development projects located outside of the County's ever-tenuous urban development boundary.</p>
Tyler Technologies
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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