The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Bikeshare Pitched as First-Mile, Last-Mile Solution in Los Angeles

Although the city of Los Angeles is well behind on the trend of adding a bikeshare of any variety, planners hope a recently proposed system will achieve more than the sum of its parts.

July 8 - Los Angeles Times

Caltrain Hits Barrier of Litigation on Tracks to Electrification

The Surface Transportation Board's denial of Caltrain's request to provide an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act gives the go ahead to the Town of Atherton's lawsuit requesting the rail board redo its Environmental Impact Report.

July 8 - The Daily Journal

Iowa DOT Head Predicts Contraction for State's Highway System

When the director of transportation for the state of Iowa admits that the highway system is overbuilt, Charles Marohn asks the question: which of the 49 remaining DOT heads will also speak honestly about their systems?

July 8 - Strong Towns

Explained: the Power and Potential of Community Land Trusts

A clear, detailed explanation of community land trusts—a growing model for retaining affordable housing and neighborhood character in the face of gentrification pressures.

July 8 - The Atlantic

10 Leading Black Urbanists

A post for The Corner Side Yard broadens the definition of urbanism as a field of practice to include more African Americans in the discussion of who has influence in improving cities.

July 8 - The Corner Side Yard


Suing for the 'Civil Right' to Develop Housing

A developer is claiming that the New Jersey borough of Upper Saddle River violated its "civil rights" to provide housing in a New Jersey community.

July 7 - The Record

Study Sheds Light on Dallas Transit Deserts

Researchers from the University of Texas identified the places in Dallas that suffer a lack of adequate transit service. Leading the list: Far North Dallas.

July 7 - The Dallas Morning News


$73 Million Expansion Underway for Seattle's Pike Place Market

One of Seattle's most recognizable locations began work on sweeping changes on June 24, 2015.

July 7 - The Urbanist

The Alamo Granted World Heritage Site Status

The San Antonio Missions—five frontier missions that include The Alamo—were named among a group of new World Heritage Sites.

July 7 - UNESCO

Ice Cream, Heavy Trucks, and Carbon Emissions

An op-ed by Jostein Solheim, CEO of Ben & Jerry's, supports the second phase of greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty engines and vehicles that would become effective 2018.

July 7 - The Guardian

Los Angeles Traffic - The Newhall Pass

California Governor Brown's Conflicting Road Budget Priorities

When his father was governor, California was awash in federal highway dollars. Now Jerry Brown's administration contemplates a risky tax hike, juggling the need for road improvements with a clean, transit-oriented agenda.

July 7 - Los Angeles Times

Canton Creates Roadmap for Right-Sizing

In its first comprehensive plan since the 1960s, Canton, Ohio, is setting a bold new course that could influence planning in hundreds of small and mid-sized American cities with weak real estate markets.

July 7 - The Canton Repository

Parking Sign

Maryland Parking Lots Go Underground

For a long time, surface parking lots blanketed Maryland's Montgomery County. Developers and county officials now prioritize mixed-use infill with parking concealed underground.

July 7 - WAMU

Architecture Critic Finds Faults in Chicago Placemaking

Architecture Critic Blair Kamin wants more from Make Way for People, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's placemaking program, and finds faults with the Lincoln Hub as an example of tactical urbanism.

July 7 - Chicago Tribune

Pittsburgh Votes: Keep Our Bridges Gold

In a civic exercise only possible in Pittsburgh, residents voted online in resounding support of keeping the color scheme of the city's famous Three Sisters Bridges.

July 7 - Pittsburg Post-Gazette

High Line

BLOG POST

The Urban Landscape Rock Star

Continuing to heap praise onto James Corner and his firm, Field Operations, may seem like an exercise in redundancy at this point. But there is little doubt that all of the attention is good for landscape architects—and for cities.

July 6 - Mark Hough

Wild Detroit

How Risky Lending Hollowed Out Detroit

Over one half of Detroit's foreclosed homes are blighted or abandoned. Buyers who purchased the homes for as little as $1 have little incentive to keep them in good shape—or pay taxes.

July 6 - The Detroit News

Surprise Survey Finding on Density in the Bay Area

San Francisco and the Bay Area, known for their exorbitant housing prices and not unrelated, strong NIMBY attitudes, could be softening their opposition toward increasing density in their neighborhoods.

July 6 - San Jose Mercury News

Need Convincing that Vehicle-Miles-Traveled Fees Make Sense?

Eric Jaffe's July 1 article in CityLab has 18 reasons, and not one in opposition. The date is significant as it marks the official kickoff of the Oregon Road Usage Charge program.

July 6 - CityLab

Raleigh

FEATURE

Planners Across America: Raleigh Makes Room to Grow Under the Leadership of Ken Bowers

In this interview for the "Planners Across America" series, Ken Bowers, AICP, discusses how the city of Raleigh will rely on the city's new comprehensive plan and development code to accommodate 100,000 new residents by 2030.

July 6 - Josh Stephens

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