The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>Preservation of historic African American sites may face challenges from unexpected stakeholders...groups within the Black community.</p>

February 2 - The Christian Science Monitor

<p>Hundreds of government scientists accuse the Bush administration of interfering with their work and misrepresenting their findings about climate change.</p>

February 1 - Democracy Now!

To help save endangered salmon, officials are considering making costly improvements to dams on the Klamath River in California and Oregon. Removing the dams would cost less than fixing them, but removal forfeits hydroelectric power production.

February 1 - Los Angeles Times

<p>Green roofs can cut air-conditioning bills, last longer than regular roofs, and are environment-friendly. Now they could help you save on taxes too.</p>

February 1 - New York Daily News

<p>Plans for a long-imagined underwater high speed rail line connecting Europe and Africa emphasizes the comparative lack of rail development in the United States.</p>

February 1 - International Herald Tribune

<p>Unconferences, a type of informational gathering among open source software developers, could provide a model for the planning community.</p>

February 1 - WorldChanging

<p>Bend, Oregon -- population 67,000 -- led the nation in home appreciation last year, and has become a symbol of the booming market in picturesque western towns.</p>

February 1 - The Economist

<p>Chicago is keen to use porous asphalt and paving for new transportation projects, touting its environmental benefits, but questions remain about its long term effectiveness -- including its ability to withstand Chicago winters.</p>

February 1 - The Chicago Tribune

<p>A bill is being pushed forward in Maryland that would ban all new "ground rents" -- a housing ownership situation in which one owner owns a house and another owns the land beneath the house. Some say the system is being used in a "predatory" way.</p>

February 1 - The Baltimore Sun

<p>A regional government association is looking at developing brownfields for future commuter rail stations in central South Carolina as a way to cut costs.</p>

February 1 - The State

<p>The land rights battle that spurred the passage of Oregon's Measure 37 may come to an end, with a county-approved expedited process that would divide 22-acres of land into 8 lots.</p>

February 1 - The Portland Tribune

<p>California's governor supports infrastructure funding and fights global warming, but he has no love for high speed rail. His proposed budget may kill a high speed rail agency, and he wants a $9.95 billion rail bond removed from the 2008 ballot.</p>

January 31 - The Sacramento Bee

<p>Writing in Land Lines, Professors Amnon Lehavi and Amir N. Licht offer a new conceptual approach to land assembly problems that attempts to circumvent the problems that arise in using eminent domain for private development.</p>

January 31 - Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Land Lines

<p>The English village of Ashton Hayes is looking to become the country's first carbon-neutral community. Cooperation village-wide has enabled the installation of solar panels and used recycled building materials in new structures.</p>

January 31 - The Guardian Unlimited

<p>New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin testified to a Senate committee recently that a lack of local control over federal funding is severely limiting the Gulf Coast recovery. He says he doesn't see the federal government's will to rebuild New Orleans.</p>

January 31 - CNN

<p>A new study about the effects of local highway pollution on children's health has determined that living near highways can cause lifelong health risks. The results may cause many planners to reconsider where new housing and schools are developed.</p>

January 31 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>A city ordinance in Orlando, Florida, does not allow social service groups that help the city's homeless population to expand or renovate their facilities, out of fear that development will be hindered. Many groups are looking to change this law.</p>

January 31 - Orlando Weekly

<p>A license has been granted to the city of Manchester to host the United Kingdom's first "supercasino" -- a 5,00 square meter gambling and hotel complex similar to Las Vegas casinos. However, many in the UK are worried about resulting social problems.</p>

January 31 - The Guardian Unlimited

<p>A cadre of architects, planners, and designers descended upon Detroit for the 9th annual University of Michigan Detroit design charrette. The focus: a more livable and inhabited downtown for the country's most maligned, but up-and-coming cities.</p>

January 31 - The Detroit News

<p>Interest-only loans and ARMs once touted as a panacea have now become the vehicle for massive foreclosures as financially distressed owners can no longer afford their expensive homes.</p>

January 31 - The Sacramento Bee