The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Dave Taft pens an ode to the merits of the red cedar—a common tree in New York City and dry, empty lots all over the East.

February 21 - New York Times

The most recent Census Bureau Housing Vacancy Survey showed a long-awaited boom in household growth—to the tune of 1.6 million households in year-over-year growth.

February 21 - Harvard Center for Joint Housing Studies

Florida's private inter-city rail project is getting a taste of California-style rail opposition from two counties that responded to citizens' complaints by voting to allot $4.1 million for potential legal action against rail line.

February 21 - The Palm Beach Post

Responding to the New York train crash that killed six this month, Sam Tanenhaus reflects on how commuting got so dangerous and why we don't demand better.

February 21 - The New Yorker

A navigation app that aggregates transportation modes and works offline? Do tell.

February 21 - Engadget

Finally, a breakthrough we've all been waiting for: Bertha is on the move again in Seattle and will soon be ready for repairs. The tunnel Bertha was built to drill will have to wait, however.

February 20 - The Seattle Times

A housing report by analyzing Philadelphia's Center City enunciates an obstacle facing many cities in the throes of downtown revitalization: What happens when Millennials don't come home to roost?

February 20 - Philadelphia

A judge's ruling in New York has evicted a rent-stabilized tenant in Hell's Kitchen. Renters might want to reconsider the terms of their lease before listing their apartments for rent—especially if they live in a rent stabilized apartment.

February 20 - New York Post

"Depending on where you live in Melbourne, it could take longer to get into the city than it did in the 1920s," according to an article The Age. But really not much has changed.

February 20 - The Age (Australia)

Ecologists and planners have been warning that water may be the oil of the 21st century. With oil prices plunging, water is getting more dear in some places. Sao Paulo, Brazil's great megacity and economic heart, is already facing a dire shortage.

February 20 - New York Times

Under the transportation funding plan proposed by Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, motorists would pay an annual road user charge of about $50 to help pay for the $59 billion in deferred highway and bridge maintenance that Gov. Brown noted recently.

February 20 - U-T San Diego

Most states classify bicycles as "vehicles", and therefore bicyclists as "drivers" of vehicles. Practically what this means is: car rules are bike rules.

February 20 - Community Builders

To build ties to its neighbors, a young arts organization embarked on a sprawling multimedia project exploring the past and present of Williamsburg's Latino community.

February 20 - Satellite Magazine

It's too bad there isn't a map that can lead us to the place where all the fact-checkers have gone.

February 20 - Vox

BLOG POST

A new article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research (@JPER7) by Hongwei Dong of California State University, Fresno, asks whether New Urbanist developments were more resilient in terms of recovering from the 2008 real estate crash.

February 20 - JPER

A report by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley tracks the proliferation of vagrancy laws in the Golden State. Meanwhile, The Guardian notes the spread of so-called "defensive architecture."

February 19 - Social Science Research Network

An interview with Joel Russell, executive director of the Form-Based Codes Institute.

February 19 - AARP

The U.K. based Design Council recently announced the winners of its "Ones to Watch" competition. The winning entries show how young designers (aka, the "future of British design") are working to improve urban life.

February 19 - The Guardian Cities

It wouldn't exactly mean cats and dogs living together, but what if technological innovations could make cars safer for pedestrians and bikers?

February 19 - The Washington Post

A proposal to cut the gas tax by 21 percent would dig a huge hole in the state's transportation budget. It comes from a requirement in 2010 fuel tax swap legislation that doubled the excise tax while reducing the sales tax on gas by 6 percent.

February 19 - U-T San Diego