The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

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

Alan Mallach unpacks a remarkable project currently underway in Toronto, suggesting that sometimes higher, rather than lower, density may be the best way to go.

April 3 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Two New Jersey cities square off when one accuses the other of abusing public resources—this familiar story is given novel form by bikeshare and public bike racks.

April 2 - The Jersey Journal

It's surprising to see places named with racially offensive words in 2016—no matter what your take on political correctness.

April 2 - Crosscut

A fun exhibit at the South Coast Botanic Garden is reviewed by park planner Clement Lau.

April 2 - UrbDeZine

The $289 million streetcar would serve the cities of Santa Ana (population 329,00), county seat and second densest in California after San Francisco, and Garden Grove (population 170,000) on a 4.1-mile route. Service could begin 2020.

April 2 - Orange County Breeze

When it comes to housing, supply and demand isn’t as simple as it seems (or as simple as some boosters would like us to think), and a supply-side strategy will not work in every context to address affordability, including in hot neighborhoods.

April 2 - Shelterforce/Rooflines