The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

BLOG POST

<p> In response to the <a href="http://www.canadascities.ca/newdealforcities.htm">political movement for a &quot;new deal&quot; for Canada&#39;s cities</a>, successive Federal governments have instituted a Gas Tax Fund to provide Canadian municipalities with a supposedly stable means to finance their infrastructure needs. The 2008 Federal Budget extended the fund to beyond 2013-14<a href="http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/ip-pi/gas-essence_tax/index_e.shtml"> to become a permanent measure</a>. Agreements were drawn up between each of the provinces and Ottawa to set specific amounts, based on per capita need and other principles.

July 22 - Michael Dudley

<p>Decades of hard-won community revitalization work in America's cities is being undone by the mortgage crisis, and the Federal government is at odds over how to stop the decline.</p>

July 22 - The Washington Post

<p>New York City's car-free "Summer Streets" events are proving to be popular. A three-and-a-half minute video offers a look at Saturday's Williamsburg Walks event on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn.</p>

July 22 - Streetsblog

<p>The Wall Street Journal reports that middle-class African-Americans are leaving America's major cities in droves, leaving remaining African-American cultural and religious institutions struggling to adjust to this new demographic reality.</p>

July 22 - The Wall Street Journal

<p>Washington D.C.'s National Mall is crumbling. Many say now's the time to start thinking about a new future for one of America's most prized public spaces.</p>

July 22 - Newsweek

<p>A non-profit group in Chicago wants to open a museum dedicated to American public housing in the Former Public Housing Authority Building.</p>

July 22 - The Chicago Tribune

<p>Yet another unforeseen consequence of high gasoline prices and less driving: the gas tax-funded federal highway trust fund is being depleted, putting states' highway project funding in danger.</p>

July 22 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>Four years after it hosted the Summer Olympics, Athens is questioning whether the $15 billion investment in venues that now largely sit unused was really worth it.</p>

July 22 - The Christian Science Monitor

<p>Residents of Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood are complaining about plans to redevelop nearby Fort Lawton which includes housing for seniors and homeless.</p>

July 22 - The Seattle Times

<p>Residents of Florida's Everglades City have teamed up to preserve their local character and keep cookie-cutter development out.</p>

July 22 - The Christian Science Monitor

<p>Later this summer residents in the Province of Ontario will be able to plug in their homes to a new source of electrical power: biogas derived from cow manure.</p>

July 21 - The Globe & Mail

<p>MarketWatch reports on the rise of contactless smart cards in public transit and banking, and speculates that the time is ripe to put the two uses on the same card.</p>

July 21 - Marketwatch

<p>The Chicago Transit Authority has announced plans to remove all the seating from some of its rush hour trains in order to deal with increased demand.</p>

July 21 - The Chicago Tribune

<p>Planners are pushing for a downtown streetcar, but detractors say Columbus already has a fabulous rapid transit system: 'It's called the freeway.'</p>

July 21 - The Columbus Dispatch

<p>Next American City reflects on the changing face of suburbia.</p>

July 21 - The Next American City

FEATURE

Planetizen's Assistant Editor Nate Berg investigates the impact of recent court decisions on the Los Angeles River, and how it may affect development on the watersheds of rivers and waterways across the country.

July 21 - Nate Berg

<p>B.C. Auditor General John Doyle released a scathing report this week claiming that officials have done a poor job of involving the public and looking out for their best interests.</p>

July 21 - The National Post

<p>Rising gas prices aren't just encouraging more transit use, they are making public transit more expensive, and charging more for tickets and passes hurt low-income riders the most.</p>

July 21 - The Christian Science Monitor

<p>A new Federal regulation will deny funding to public transit services for routes oriented to meeting the needs of public schools, with the aim of encouraging school boards to contract with private bus operators instead.</p>

July 21 - Campaign for America's Future

FEATURE

In response to a recent essay about an apparent relationship between urbanism and social alienation, Robert Steuteville argues that the study in question -- and its press -- twists the facts.

July 21 - Robert Steuteville