The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A competition with $50 million at stake, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, recently completed its submission deadline. The U.S. DOT reported shock at the level of interest in the competition.

February 11 - Roadshow

Breaking news came in a pair this week for Google's self-driving car technology.

February 11 - Quartz

A new report from California's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office may dispel assumptions that construction of market-rate housing displaces low-income Californians.

February 11 - California Legislative Analyst's Office

BLOG POST

Philosopher Ivan Illich believed that the bicycle could connect users back to the pace of community-oriented life, that the right of free movement does not lapse just because cities have strapped themselves into ideological seat belts.

February 11 - Steven Snell

The Transportation Policy Board of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization approved a big spending increase for a project to widen U.S. Highway 183.

February 10 - Austin Monitor

Included among a budget proposal that likely won't go anywhere, the Obama Administration is recommending the end of a project that would create nuclear power by dismantling nuclear weapons.

February 10 - The New York Times

A map of bike commuters also maps the political conflicts in a changing Washington, D.C.

February 10 - Greater Greater Washington

Scott Doyon rewrote a classic children's book as a history of US cities since World War II. Fortunately, it's a quick read. Unfortunately, it's up to all of us how it ends.

February 10 - PlaceShakers

In an unusual move that doesn't portend well for the EPA initiative, the Supreme Court ruled that the Clean Power Plan Rule that reduces emissions from existing power plants be suspended while it is heard by the Court of Appeals this summer.

February 10 - Los Angeles Times

Fairly or unfairly, Des Moines has a solid reputation as one of the nation's least interesting cities. But unbeknownst to the rest of us, this quiet working town might become the Midwest's answer to Austin, Texas.

February 10 - Politico

Sarasota County, Florida, has approved a plan to pave over forested wetlands and build parking for a Whole Foods Market. To compensate, the developer is donating another plot of wetlands to the public.

February 10 - Quartz

BLOG POST

The new International Housing Affordability Survey contains various errors and biases. The author even claims that compact housing reduces fertility. Really? Smart policies can create affordable and family-friendly housing.

February 10 - Todd Litman

It's possible that the ill effects of NIMBY obstructionism are enabled by a lack of understanding about how and why NIMBYism works.

February 10 - CityLab

A study published February 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association points to three reasons for the life expectancy being lower for Americans than in other developed nations. Care to guess what they are?

February 10 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Several big stories, all rolled into one, are emerging in Portland. Changes in zoning have paved the way for high-rises that are proposed for the existing location of the city's famous food stalls.

February 9 - The Oregonian

Census data shows that Seattle jumped Baltimore to become the country's tenth most densely populated city. Is Seattle on the cusp of a changing of the guard when it comes to density and population growth?

February 9 - The Seattle Times

A book review of the newly released book, "Dream Cities," by Wade Graham.

February 9 - The New York Times

New research says land use patterns have increased the costs of wildfire protection, so strategic land use planning would help lower the costs of wildfire protection.

February 9 - University of Wyoming

St. Louis will end a program that allows groups to decorate crosswalks for the purposes of beautifying and branding neighborhoods. Currently decorated crosswalks can stay, for now.

February 9 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

While bikeshare is popular with planners and local officials all over the country, in some cities it still hasn't proven popular with people. One author has some thoughts on how bikeshare can begin to attract larger numbers.

February 9 - The Urban Edge