The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>Washington D.C.'s Cultural Development Corporation is pushing condo conversions to create affordable housing for low-income artists.</p>

September 17 - The Washington Post

<p>This illustrated list outlines the 10 simple steps to designing the city of the future.</p>

September 17 - The New York Times

BLOG POST

<p><img src="/files/u4/lvmonorail2.jpg" border="0" alt="Los Vegas Monorail" title="Los Vegas Monorail" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="362" height="362" align="right" />I was visiting Las Vegas for a wedding and, rather than blow my salary on the blackjack table, I was eager to try the new <a href="http://www.lvmonorail.com/">Las Vegas Monorail</a>. As the world&#39;s only city-scale example of a technology that was once envisioned as the future of mass transit, the Las Vegas Monorail has seven stops along a route that roughly parallels Las Vegas Strip, with stations connected to major hotels. <br />

September 16 - Chris Steins

<p>Soon to be the tallest building in the world, the Burj Dubai is only a small piece of Dubai's unprecedented and spectacular $100-billion construction boom.</p>

September 16 - The Globe & Mail

<p>Predictions that our high-tech age of connectivity and wire-free communications would drain big cities, the world's financial centers remain heavily populated and their economies are thriving.</p>

September 16 - The Economist

<p>Planned construction on Storrow Drive yields a lose-lose situation for Boston's Back Bay neighborhood residents.</p>

September 16 - The Boston Globe

<p>World agricultural productivity could decline between 3-16% by 2080. Developing countries will experience the biggest drop.</p>

September 16 - Center for Global Development

<p>The second phase of Sao Paulo, Brazil's strict advertising and signage ban has begun, and is resulting in the renovation and preservation of the city's historic facades.</p>

September 16 - The Christian Science Monitor

<p>Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is taking a lot of heat from cycling advocates for citing bicycle infrastructure funding for the deteriorating state of the country's highways and bridges.</p>

September 15 - Salon

<p>A report suggests that the only way London can reach its 2025 carbon reduction goals would be to take drastic measures, such as banning all cars from the city.</p>

September 15 - BBC

<p>After a flurry of announcements regarding blanketing cities with free Internet access, the actual forecast for these wireless networks looks rather bleak.</p>

September 15 - The Economist

<p>One Florida towns desire to promote works of art in public spaces demonstrates the challenges when government (and taxpayer dollars) get involved with art.</p>

September 15 - The Orlando Sentinel

<p>More Americans are leaving home earlier to wrestle with congested commutes, with 1 in 8 leaving before 6 a.m.</p>

September 15 - USA Today

<p>Physicist and renowned environmental leader, Vandana Shiva, talks about globalization, emissions trading, and environmental justice.</p>

September 14 - Democracy Now!

<p>Officials hope that a planned extension to the airport will help move the monorail out of the red.</p>

September 14 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>Motorists beware - if you double-park in a transit-only lane in San Francisco next year, that bus behind you could take your photo resulting in a $250 citation, if AB 101 is signed by Governor Schwarzenegger.</p>

September 14 - The Examiner

<p>In a ranking of California's best and worst mid-sized city downtowns, <em>California Planning &amp; Development Report</em> concluded that Pasadena's reputation is well-earned. Many say the transformation has been miraculous -- and it continues today.</p>

September 14 - California Planning & Development Report

BLOG POST

<span style="font-family: Arial"><font size="3">The following came through on a planning list serve, and I thought it raised several very provocative points that speak to the core of how we plan in the U.S. </font></span><span style="font-family: Arial"><font size="3"> </font></span> <blockquote><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial"><font size="3">“I heard, though I cannot remember the source, of a municipality that countered predictable neighborhood opposition to a higher density TOD proposal by broadening the review process to the whole community. I believe that the actual adjacent property owners were deemed to have a conflict of interest: i.e. their backyard versus overall better transit and housing opportunities for the entire town.

September 14 - Samuel Staley

BLOG POST

<p>During my commute this morning, one of the segments on the piped-in TV news that repeats endlessly on the bus mentioned that the City of Long Beach, California, had decided put new water restrictions in effect due to an impending water shortage. The city is advising residents to refrain from watering their lawns and taking long showers – while urging restaurants to only serve water to diners who request it. According to the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-water14sep14,0,3097443.story?coll=la-home-center">Los Angeles Times story</a> on the new restrictions, residents and businesses who don’t heed the call to conserve will receive a warning from officials, while repeat offenders may face a fine.<br />

September 14 - Christian Madera

<p>A proposal to sell off 9,000 acres of Texas land set aside in a conservation fund has many worried about a loss of public land. But proponents say a private owner would expand, not limit, public access to the land.</p>

September 14 - The Houston Chronicle