The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A new zoning law in Toronto could enable its hundreds of suburban tower developments to become vibrant and active communities.

April 5 - Doggerel

TransCanada, the company that hoped to build a Canada-to-Gulf Coast pipeline, now wants to build one to carry Bakken oil from North Dakota to Canada, transporting oil now hauled only by trains that have caused recent deadly explosions.

April 5 - The Bismarck Tribune

Places like Columbia Heights, an older suburb north of Minneapolis, lie at the focal point of conflict over development and gentrification. Can these places support a 21st-century urbanism?

April 5 - Governing

San Francisco may move to protect teachers from "no-fault" evictions during the school year.

April 5 - San Francisco Examiner

Driven by economic and demographic trends, poverty in "outer ring" suburbs is on the rise. Since 2000, Atlanta's suburbs have seen the highest rate of change in poverty of any comparable metro region.

April 5 - WABE

Amid the ubiquitous, and inconsistent, reportage on rising rents and housing prices, a guide from City Observatory helps point readers toward the most accurate numbers.

April 5 - City Observatory

FEATURE

A reply to skeptics about the democratic power and potential of civic crowdfunding platforms.

April 4 - Katie Lorah

The planning process has revealed more modest potential benefits for the highly controversial proposal to spend $15 billion on tunnels to ease environmental strain on the Bay Delta.

April 4 - Los Angeles Times

An editorial by the co-director of the Texas Low Incomes Housing Information Service argues the benefits of a proposed public and subsidized housing project in Houston.

April 4 - Houston Chronicle

San Jose, California's Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services has begun the process of updating its Trail Strategic Plan.

April 4 - San Jose Mercury News

BLOG POST

The housing shortages caused by restrictive zoning are easy to solve in principle—even if the solutions are politically impossible.

April 4 - Michael Lewyn

BLOG POST

Planners are increasingly using social media for public engagement. How can you analyze what people are saying? NodeXL is an easy to use free tool for scraping and analyzing social media. I use this tool to report from the APA National Conference.

April 4 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

"Something is wrong," proclaimed Los Angeles Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D), "when one in eight California drivers claims a disability." Gatto has introduced two bills: one to address disabled parking, the other could promote variable pricing of parking.

April 4 - Streetsblog California

Raleigh's North Carolina Museum of Art is redesigning its extensive grounds with an eye toward how public interaction with museums is shifting. Inclusion, sustainability, and brand development are paramount.

April 4 - The New York Times

Sales taxes are regressive, but unlike the gas tax, they bear no relationship to transportation. Should a November transportation ballot measure pass, sales taxes in three cities in the county of Los Angeles would exceed 10 percent.

April 4 - KPCC

An Amtrak train that originated in Boston and headed to Savannah, Ga. struck a backhoe working on tracks about 15 miles southwest of Philadelphia. Two Amtrak construction workers in or near the backhoe were killed; 31 train passengers were injured.

April 4 - Planetizen

As excitement around the L.A. River revitalization heats up, neighbors of the once-neglected channel wonder who will benefit from the billion-dollar redevelopment.

April 3 - The Nation

According to critic James Russell, Long Island City has come to resemble the new metropolises of Asia. A frenetic jumble of old and new, the area's "dystopian" qualities aren't all bad.

April 3 - James S. Russell

The recent thaw in U.S. relations with Cuba, as well as President Obama's visit last month, have spurred conversations about Havana's future. Its public spaces are worn, but they're busy and well-designed.

April 3 - Project For Public Spaces

Rockville, Maryland has plans to create a king-sized complete street along Rockville Pike, incorporating lanes for cars, bikes, buses, and more space for landscaping. But can a street like that still serve pedestrians?

April 3 - Greater Greater Washington