The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
California's Carpool Lanes Struggling To Meet Demand
<p>In California, plans to build nearly 1,000 miles of carpool lanes are being reconsidered as a new report reveals that the lanes are not meeting federal standards for flow and effectiveness.</p>
Planning For Rising Sea Levels
<p>For the coastal California city of San Diego, the threat of global warming and rising sea levels is on the minds of many local officials and planners.</p>
Fighting Congestion At Home And Abroad
<p>In exchange for a discount on oil for London's bus system, city transit officials will lend their expertise to the city of Caracas, Venezuela, in an effort to reduce the city's crippling congestion.</p>
BLOG POST
No Freeways in Vancouver? Not Quite ...
<div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Let's begin by killing off one of the cherished half-truths about Vancouver.</span></font></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Vancouver, it is said, is the only major city in North America without freeways.</span></font></p>
The Modern Duplex
<p>With more homeowners looking for creative ways to finance their home or house relatives, Los Angeles is experiencing a revival of interest in duplexes.</p>
Atlanta Swelling With Coastal Florida Expatriates
<p>Fear of hurricanes, high housing costs, and prohibitive insurance premiums are driving coastal Florida residents north to Atlanta. Real estate agents and developers are happy, but the region is already strained by growth.</p>
Troubled L.A. Suburb Manages Dramatic Turnaround
<p>Through a myriad of efforts -- including helping residents install picket fences -- the once ailing suburb of Paramount, California, is now on the rise.</p>
Will The Sunbelt Dry Up?
<p>Drought and shrinking water supplies could pose serious limits to growth in the American southwest and southeast.</p>
Six States To Study Replacing Fuel Excise Taxes With Mileage Fees
<p>An ambitious study to charge motorists by the mile, which hopes to address decreasing gas tax revenue for both states and the federal government, will begin in North Carolina's Research Triangle.</p>
Look At Houston In A Different Light, Argues Kotkin
<p>Often maligned by by most planners and urbanists, the City of Houston, Texas, receives a glowing defense from Joel Kotkin.</p>
Making The Case For Accessory Units In Denver
<p>With the city's zoning code set to be updated, one expert urges Denver to allow the construction of granny flats to provide housing and generate rental income for families.</p>
Slums As The Next Hot Real Estate Market?
<p>Mumbai is considering a plan to sell off a slum to developers, who will be obligated to relocate the residents in exchange for rights to build in what is becoming prime real estate.</p>
BLOG POST
Simple is the Concept
<p class="MsoNormal">“Getting” Universal Design creates an “Aha!” moment. Experiencing Universal Design creates a “Wow!” moment.<span> </span></p>
The Housing Facade Is Just A Facade
<p>This column bemoans the stark architectural differences between the insides and outsides of suburban houses.</p>
BLOG POST
Highway Zoning?
<p style="line-height: 150%" class="MsoNormal">The Oscar-winning film <em>The Lives of Others</em> recalls that famous question about governments who spy on their citizens: Who will watch the watchers? (Answer: Alberto Gonzalez.) A similar, if less cloak-and-dagger question applies to planning: Who will zone the zoners? While governments use zoning to keep polluting uses away from homes, what if the biggest polluter in a city is a government use?</p><p style="line-height: 150%" class="MsoNormal">In most cities today, the most common polluting use is exempt from zoning: highways.</p>
BLOG POST
A Tale of Two Public Processes
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Over the last few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to attend public meetings in Europe and the American South. I find public meetings to be an entertaining challenge. Let’s face it, a public meeting is always a gamble. You’re at the mercy of whoever shows up and whatever they perceive about the project. You have to think on your feet and make quick decisions to guide the process, without looking like I’m-in-control-here-Alexander-Haig.</font><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font> </p>
Worries Over UGB-Splitting Bill And The Onslaught Of Sprawl
<p>A powerful home builders lobby in Oregon helped push a bill through the state legislature that some say threatens the urban growth boundary for the city of Eugene, and essentially opens the flood gates for sprawl in the area.</p>
The New Face Of Public Housing
<p>A formerly crime-ridden public housing project has been redeveloped as a HUD Hope VI project. Many see as a successful turnaround, bringing in subsidized renters and buyers as well as market-rate homeowners.</p>
Washington Needed After All?
<p>Much has been made recently about how U.S. municipal and state governments aren't waiting for the federal government to act on climate change. Now it appears that these efforts can't succeed without Washington.</p>
High Bottled Water Spending Prompts City Ban
<p>Amid revelations that San Francisco City government had been spending almost half a million dollars a year on bottled water, the mayor has instituted a ban that would require all government water use to come straight from the tap.</p>
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
