The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Jared Green looks at the floating forest that has made itself home aboard the decommissioned SS Ayrfield, 'a 1,140-tonne behemoth built in 1911 as a steam collier', that can be found bobbing in Australia's Homebush Bay.

July 12 - THE DIRT

Rick Poynor composes a photo essay that documents compelling street art found along his recent travels in Portugal and Spain. For Poyner, its not the wall-filling murals that interest him, but rather 'collectively composed street marking'.

July 12 - Observatory

At $23,550, the federal poverty line is a blunt instrument used to measure the nuances of affordability. A tool provided by the Economic Policy Institute shows how much more a family needs to make for a modicum of security in cities across the U.S.

July 12 - The Atlantic Cities

As the back-to-the-city movement takes hold, cities are turning old industrial buildings into distinctive spaces prized as offices and lofts. St. Louis is trying to figure out how to preserve their legacy assets from crumbling as they await new life.

July 12 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The creator of the TED conference has teamed up with Esri to develop an innovative interactive exhibit and online mapping tool to compare 16 global cities along 16 data points, including: population density, open space, and traffic.

July 12 - Fast Company Co.Exist

While Staten Island and Rockaway, Queens also suffered devastation from Superstorm Sandy; Broad Channel, an island in Jamaica Bay, Queens, may be the lowest lying area in the City and endures tidal flooding regularly, not just from storm surges.

July 12 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

More and more local governments are adopting complete streets policies. But gaps in implementation in these places suggests that the building of actual complete streets is dependent on a true culture shift. Angie Schmitt looks at the obstacles.

July 12 - DC.Streetsblog

Recent studies report a noted decrease in traffic congestion in the D.C. area. Robert McCartney credits two trends and asks how the area should spend additional transportation revenues that will be generated by recent tax increases.

July 12 - The Washington Post

Access to affordable healthy food is a problem in poor communities throughout the U.S. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and a local non-profit have developed one way to quickly boost the healthy food infrastructure in food deserts.

July 12 - Daily News

The federal government's controversial decision to scrap Canada's long-form census in 2011 and replace it with a voluntary household survey is coming home to roost, as cities across the country dismiss its skewed results.

July 11 - The Ottawa Citizen

After several years spent facing strong professional headwinds, former APA president Mitchell Silver is encouraged to see planners revitalizing the profession by embracing their roots.

July 11 - Citiwire

Over the last several years, successive books and exhibitions have sought to paint America's midcentury master builders in a new light, by focusing on their accomplishments. What can we learn from the 'post-war planning titans'?

July 11 - The New Republic

For nearly a decade, the City of New York has sought to build Willoughby Square, a marquee public space in downtown Brooklyn. Thanks to a city-brokered agreement, a 'high-tech, mammoth underground garage' will help finance construction of the square.

July 11 - The New York Times

Removing the art from an art museum sounds like a foolish proposition until one embraces the opportunity to take in the architectural beauty of the building itself, transforming it into the work of art that it is.

July 11 - Global Site Plans - The Grid

Since 2009, the L.A. Department of Water and Power's Landscape Incentive Program has convinced 850 area property owners to replace their grass lawns with more sustainable plants, mulch, and permeable pathways. Now DWP is upping the ante.

July 11 - KPCC

Analysts have noted a change in the president on climate change in his second term. Call it a "message shift". Rather than addressing it in terms of the need for clean energy and renewables, he now speaks directly to the perils of climate change.

July 11 - The Hill

'Forget clipboards and cameras," says Heidi Moore. She spotlights six new apps (and five 'tried-and-tested' ones) that can solve your measuring, note-taking, and networking needs on your phone.

July 11 - Architect

Police response times average 58 minutes for worst crimes and at times only 10 of the city's 36 ambulances are in service: Detroit's woes extend far beyond its unpaid debts. Many residents are hoping emergency management will bring drastic change.

July 11 - The New York Times

Kicking off its in-depth examination of the ways in which New York City has been remade during Mayor Bloomberg's tenure, Matthew Schuerman looks at the city's astonishing vertical growth, a significant feat considering the shadow of 9/11.

July 11 - WNYC

Reps. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.) have introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would create America's first extraterrestrial national park - the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historic park.

July 10 - CNN