The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>Recently released Census population estimates project Metro Atlanta surpassing five million residents for the first time. The metropolitan statistical area is up to a whopping 28 counties.</p>

March 23 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

<p>Buffalo, New York, is proposing a way to require banks to take responsibility for abandoned homes and partial foreclosures. Many are hoping that this requirement would help to keep up neighborhoods that would otherwise decline as homes are abandoned.</p>

March 23 - The Buffalo News

<p>The modernist house, designated as a World Heritage Site, deteriorates as its owners and the Czech Republic government fight over restoration.</p>

March 23 - The New York Times

<p>New census figures are showing an increasing trend of rural population decline, as more and more people are moving to urban metropolitan areas. These are just two stories of waning population in some of the nation's rural areas.</p>

March 23 - Omaha World-Herald, The Raliegh News & Observer

<p>A unique gallery exhibition lets visitors build 3D plans for the future of the L.A. River out of building blocks and other small household items. Those involved say that while the work may be child's play, the ideas behind them certainly aren't.</p>

March 23 - The Los Angeles Times

BLOG POST

<font face="Trebuchet MS"><p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3">Since this is my first blog, let me introduce myself. My name is Brent Toderian. In 2006 I was appointed the City of Vancouver, British Columbia’s Director of Planning. Before that I was the Manager of Centre City Planning and Design for the City of Calgary, Alberta. I am a founding member of the <em>Council for Canadian Urbanism (CanU)</em> which is discussed below. I look forward to your comments on this and future posts.</font></p>

March 22 - Brent Toderian

<p>A new 40-year plan for downtown Salt Lake was unveiled by the City's Chamber of Commerce.</p>

March 22 - The Salt Lake Tribune

<p>The mayor of Annapolis, Maryland, wants to overrule a bill that delays all building until adequate infrastructure is in place. Lifting the ban, she says, would streamline planning in the city, but many worry that it would allow too much development.</p>

March 22 - The Baltimore Sun

<p>Japanese architects are pioneering design and building techniques that make the most of urban space, offering an affordable way to live in expensive metropolises.</p>

March 22 - WorldChanging

BLOG POST

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">In spite of my sense that we are heading pell mell into the gloom of global warming, catastrophic conflict and hopeless mediocrity, I’ve noticed a hopeful trend. Beauty and happiness have been rehabilitated from irrelevant to necessary.<span>  </span>It may not be an avalanche, but proponents are showing up in unusual places: a book by an environmental conservationist, another by an historian philosopher, and a <em>Mother Jones</em> article about the economy.<span>  </span>Can this portend a trend? </font></p>

March 22 - Barbara Knecht

<p>UCLA Professor and author of <em>The High Cost of Free Parking</em> visits New York City to preach the gospel of sound parking pricing policies.</p>

March 22 - Streetsblog

<p>Vancouver is looking to redevelop its oldest public housing project into a mixed-use and mixed-income housing development, with at least six times its current density. City officials hope it will be a profitable example for the rest of the province.</p>

March 22 - The Vancouver Sun

<p>Open space in Flathead County, Montana, has been steadily decreasing for years, and a recently approved growth policy emphasizes development and the economic benefits that follow rather than farmland preservation.</p>

March 22 - The Missoulian

<p>Newly announced plans by the government to create a Canadian National Trust dismays leaders of the Canadian Heritage Foundation, who wonder if they are being replaced over political differences.</p>

March 22 - INTBAU News

<p>At a recent ULI Conference, local and national experts discussed housing trends in fast-growing Boise Metro area, and urged developers to build more low-cost homes.</p>

March 22 - The (Boise) Idaho Statesman

BLOG POST

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">As I said in my last posting, the main, if not the only, topic of discussion in planning circles in New Orleans these days is recovery planning from Hurricane Katrina.<span> </span>A year and a half after the storm, we are getting close to having a recovery plan.<span> </span>In late January the Citywide Strategic Recovery and Rebuilding Plan, otherwise known as the “Unified New Orleans Plan” (UNOP), was presented to the New Orleans City Planning Commission (CPC), of which I am the Chair. The CPC has held several public hearings on the plan and we have at least one more scheduled.</font></p>

March 22 - Anonymous

<p>Census data indicates slow growth or decline in suburban population, but some local officials disagree.</p>

March 22 - The Washington Post

<p>One of the designers behind Mockingbird Station in Dallas, Texas, one of the first TODs in the country, talks about the recipe for a successful transit-oriented development.</p>

March 22 - Multi-Housing News

<p>A recent article urges New Mexicans to support the idea of permanent housing linked to services as a solution to homelessness -- citing the cost savings and demonstrated success of such facilities.</p>

March 22 - The Albuquerque Tribune

<p>Developers in Ozark, Illinois have incorporated a historic cemetery into a downtown revitalization project, hoping to create usable open space for the community.</p>

March 22 - Springfield News-Leader