The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

New App from the U.S. EPA Maps Environmental Justice

A publicly available web tool allows access to maps that overlay environmental impacts and the populations they impact (or the populations that manage to avoid such impacts, for that matter).

July 23 - Smithsonian Magazine

Houston's 'Avenue Place' Sets the Affordable Housing Bar High

A housing development in Houston's Near Northside has made a remarkable commitment to developing affordable units to populations at-risk of being pushed out by gentrification.

July 23 - The Urban Edge

Pyongyang, North Korea Makes Room for Bike Lanes

It's easier to install bike lanes when the country is run by a dictator.

July 23 - Fast Co.Exist

Democrats Object to 'Bipartisan' Senate Transportation Reauthorization Bill

We look at what happened in the Senate on Tuesday when the six-year DRIVE Act, relying on a variety of non-user fee revenue mechanisms to finance the Highway Trust Fund shortfall for three years, failed a procedural vote, and where it goes next.

July 23 - The Washington Post

New York Won't Cap Number of Uber Drivers

This story broke, moved toward City Council action, then broke again—all in a New York minute.

July 23 - New York Times


A Rejuvenated MARTA Pitching $8 Billion Commuter Rail Expansion

After a stunning financial turnaround and with new political support, MARTA is proposing a massive expansion of commuter rail, with rail links from Atlanta into Fulton and DeKalb counties.

July 23 - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Implications of Southeast Wisconsin's $7 Billion in Freeway Projects

Some people call it a road-building program. Others call it "an all out war on urbanism."

July 22 - Politico


A Simple Approach to Abandoned Buildings Improved Crime in Philadelphia

The city of Philadelphia's Doors and Windows Ordinance applied the Broken Windows Theory to positive results.

July 22 - Pacific Standard

Op-Ed Examines the High Cost of Free Parking…in Houston

The politics of parking aren't expected to change in the upcoming Houston mayoral election. But an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle is willing to mess with the third rail.

July 22 - Houston Chronicle

Vacant Mixed Use Ground Floor

When Mixed Use Goes Too Far

A recent op-ed by ULI Foundation Governor and developer John McNellis argues that too many cities are forcing mixed-use developments into neighborhoods, enabling vacancies and blight in the process.

July 22 - Urban Land Magazine

Hospital Care Returns to the Communities of South Los Angeles

A $250 million project, eight years in the making, returned inpatient hospital care to the neighborhoods of South Los Angeles.

July 22 - Los Angeles Times

Report: Nashville's Transit Fit for a Smaller City

The Nashville Metro Transit Authority recently released a "State of the MTA" report, detailing the system's need for additional funding to improve in pace with the needs of a growing populace.

July 22 - The Tennessean

Suburban Office Building

The New American Ghost Town: Suburban Office Parks

Suburban office parks are achieving the status of ghost towns in the Washington, D.C. area.

July 22 - The Washington Post

Michigan House Stops Short of Gas Tax Hike Plan

The legislature came very close to approving a plan this session to pay for crumbling roads, but the haul in the Republican-controlled House proved too difficult—they adjourned without voting on the Senate plan that passed 20-19 on July 1.

July 22 - Detroit Free Press

Biofuels Make Headways into Jet Fuel Market

Jets no longer run solely on fuel derived from petroleum, thanks in part to Colorado-based Red Rock Biofuels. They signed contracts with FedEx and Southwest Airlines for "renewable jet fuel" that is derived from wood-based biomass.

July 22 - The Denver Post - Business

Normal, Illinois

BLOG POST

A Sad Goodbye to Peter Lindsay Schaudt

The death of the Chicago landscape architect, Peter Schaudt, leaves an unfinished body of work and a deep void within the profession that adored him.

July 22 - Mark Hough

$250 Million in Public Funding Moving Forward for Milwaukee Bucks Arena

Approval for a $250 million public funding package—split between state, county, and local authorities—is all but assured.

July 21 - Urban Milwaukee

Meet the Uber for Kids

With extra layers of security and a pricing model that differs from other transportation network companies, HopSkipDrive is looking to tap into the crucial "busy parents" demographic.

July 21 - TechCrunch

Frisco, Texas Struggles to Coordinate Water, Electricity, and Road Upgrades

An age-old of question of infrastructure is up for debate in Frisco, Texas: whether the utility can bear the cost of running electricity lines under the ground.

July 21 - The Dallas Morning News

Zaha Hadid's $2 Billion Tokyo Stadium Plans Scrapped

Japan has pulled the plug on an ambitious stadium plan, expected to cost $2 billion and designed by one of the world's most famous architects.

July 21 - The Guardian

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Comprehensive Bikeway Design Workshop

Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University

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