The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>An enormous Iraqi dam that was "fundamentally flawed" when constructed is on the verge of failure, according to a recently released audit.</p>

November 1 - The Baltimore Sun

<p>Bogotá, Colombia has made significant efforts to integrate bicycling facilities into its TransMilenio Bus Rapid Transit system. The New York City Streets Renaissance team was there to learn more and take a look.</p>

October 31 - Streetsblog

<p>As part of a new effort to increase access to housing, advocates are working in three target areas to try to find the best ways to create affordable workforce housing in areas that are typically too expensive for many blue-collar workers.</p>

October 31 - The Washington Post

<p>Strategies used by cities such as Miami, Philadelphia, New York, St. Louis, Seattle, &amp; Denver for reducing homelessness are working.</p>

October 31 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>The recurring theme in horror movies of newly-arrived tenants being haunted by former tenants and vengeful spirits may be seen as a metaphor for gentrification, writes Sam Miller.</p>

October 31 - AlterNet

<p>The Canadian government has recently announced a plan to improve spending on transit, but with a shortfall of more than $60 billion, many are calling on the government to focus on other less "sexy" infrastructure projects.</p>

October 31 - The Vancouver Sun

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal">As education has become more expensive students wonder about what they are getting for their money. Evaluations of faculty, rankings of programs, and internet chat-room gossip all aim to find how to purchase the best value for money given a specific set of preferences. However, it is a misunderstanding to see students as primarily consumers of instruction. Rather the best students collaborate with faculty and other students to produce their own learning. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">What does this mean? In planning, as an applied profession, the activity of producing learning has a number of components. The following represent just a few of these mechanisms.</p>

October 31 - Ann Forsyth

<p>Bike lanes will be required for all new roads built in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, according to government officials. The city is hoping to get more people out of cars and onto bikes.</p>

October 31 - China Daily

<p>Already lagging behind Mississippi, Louisiana has finally approved the construction of 75 "Louisiana Cottages" (AKA Katrina Cottages) as an alternative to FEMA's temporary trailers, long thought to be a sub-standard and undignified form of housing.</p>

October 31 - New Orleans Times-Picayune

<p>After a rash of violence at its annual Castro district Halloween festival in recent years, San Francisco has put the kibosh on this year's festivities. City officials are hoping word of the party's cancellation has been heard.</p>

October 31 - The San Francisco Chronicle

<p>In response to the latest Southern California wildfires, site locations and climate must be more carefully considered by the people who build and approve subdivisions, writes Christopher Hawthorne.</p>

October 31 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>The health of Lake Superior is facing a serious threat from pollution and runoff caused by development along its shores, according to a panel of scientists.</p>

October 31 - Associated Press via Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune

BLOG POST

<p>Over the past three months, my girlfriend and I have made three trips to the suburbs of Miami. Twice to the Whole Foods we desperately lack on Miami Beach (Yes, Wild Oats is okay, but for us food snobs it just does not compare) and once to the brand new, soul-killing, 283,000 square foot IKEA to partially outfit our 450 square foot South Beach studio apartment. </p>

October 30 - Mike Lydon

<p>In a clear message to L.A.’s transportation leaders, a U.S. Department of Transportation representative told the city's transit agency to consider congestion pricing as a method to both reduce congestion and show ‘the true costs’ of freeway driving.</p>

October 30 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>Groundwater supplies in Northeast Florida may only be able to support growth until 2030, when demands on water will overshoot available resources.</p>

October 30 - The Florida Times-Union

<p>A government report claims that greatly expanding Britain's transportation infrastructure will not work against its goal of reducing carbon emissions, but will actually help push transit technology to be more environmentally-friendly.</p>

October 30 - The Guardian

<p>Despite its tax benefits, a big mixed-use project in Salt Lake City is being blamed for making the downtown a virtual deadzone.</p>

October 30 - Deseret Morning News

<p>Due to the success of Portland's downtown streetcar, city officials are already in the beginning stages of planning future lines throughout the city.</p>

October 30 - The Oregonian

<p>While catastrophic, the California fires will not have nearly the destructive impact as the other firestorm still in progress: the subprime meltdown.</p>

October 30 - The Huffington Post

<p>Designers and architects are teaming up to provide the Gulf Coast region with pre-fabricated buildings meant to serve as temporary general stores and community centers for areas still struggling to recuperate.</p>

October 30 - Metropolis Magazine