The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The Senate was hard at work on Thursday, passing not one but two transportation funding bills—first its controversial six-year (funded for three) transportation reauthorization bill, the DRIVE Act, and then, most importantly, the patch bill.

August 2 - The Hill

Local officials are considering a conservancy to preserve the Houston Astrodome, considered an antiquities landmark by the Texas Historical Commission.

August 1 - Houston Chronicle

The Bronx Parking Development Co. was created to build new parking around the new Yankee Stadium, but the glut of new parking has not yet produced a profitable venture.

August 1 - Crain's New York Business

While the vast majority of cities saw an increase—or no decrease—in neighborhood inequality since 1990, nearly 30 regions became more equal. But paper equality can be problematic when the rich simply up and left town.

August 1 - Urban Institute

This piece from the Vancouver Sun advocates using land value capture taxes to fund transit and related improvements. Such a tax would target speculation, the author writes, rather than productive activity.

August 1 - The Vancouver Sun

While Amtrak's century-old Hudson River rail tunnels may capture the public's attention, particularly when they are closed, infrastructure problems on the Northeast Corridor also plague the line from Rhode Island to Washington, D.C.

August 1 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

Hazel Borys chronicles an Arctic expedition adventure, rife with environmental insights. If you ever wondered what it felt like in the olden days to receive dispatches from explorers off in distant mysterious lands, maybe it felt something like this.

July 31 - PlaceShakers

Haiti's weak government and heavy foreign aid presence has led some to refer to it as the "Republic of NGOs." Satellite explored how this dynamic plays out in the small city of Fort-Liberté, which has been shaken by recent protests over electricity.

July 31 - Satellite Magazine

According to an audit, the Denver Moves plan hasn't lived up to its goals, mainly because of a poor showing in the city's budget since implementation in 2011.

July 31 - The Denver Post

Two authors agree that housing policies in the War on Poverty have failed. Are those policies too progressive, or not progressive enough?

July 31 - Market Urbanism

Everyone has heard about Silver Lake, the Mission, and, of course, Brooklyn. But what about East Village, NuLu, Fondren, and Haymarket? Hipsters are everywhere! These are the top hipster neighborhoods—the Brooklyns, if you will—in all 50 states

July 31 - Thrillist

To make a strategic assessment of the St. Louis region, the 7th edition of "Where We Stand" ranks the largest 50 metropolitan areas on more than 200 variables.

July 31 - East-West Gateway Council of Governments

As the nation becomes more racially diverse, so too do the suburbs.

July 31 - Brookings: The Avenue

The American Planning Association has released new information on the role of planners in providing safe routes to parks.

July 31 - American Planning Association

An unflinching op-ed begs a rethinking of narratives that cheer the "Triumph of the City." In the contemporary city, the argument goes, only the rich are better off from urbanization.

July 31 - Citymetric

FEATURE

Josh Whitehead, planning director of the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Planning & Development (OPD), discusses competing with suburbs, implementing a new zoning code, and redeveloping, for a second time, historic streetcar corridors.

July 31 - Josh Stephens

Not since 1963 have so many construction permits been issued. In fact, permits issued in the month of June alone exceeded the average annual total over the past two decades.

July 30 - The Wall Street Journal

An Atlanta City Councilmember and local advocates are pushing for the city to join the ranks of cities that have allowed tiny houses as a solution to housing challenges.

July 30 - Atlanta Magazine

Renewable diesel, a biofuel that differs from biodiesel by the feedstock used and its chemical makeup, making it indistinguishable from petrodiesel, is a small but growing industry. The announcement from UPS was welcome news for three companies.

July 30 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

Maps are still an important tool in teaching kids to be global citizens.

July 30 - The Washington Post - Blogs