The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Sounding very much like the new OH and WI Republican governors, a key state Republican legislator wants to avoid the ongoing state subsidy for Iowa City to Chicago trains. At stake is $230 million in a Federal rail grant to build 110 mph trains.

January 10 - Des Moines Register

...and it could be keeping you warm. Whereas diesel from algae may be a bust, insulation from fungus could be coming soon to a home near you.

January 10 - BuildingGreen.com

A New York man who has watched a Bronx neighborhood fall into despair over decades is hoping to help un-blight the troubled area.

January 10 - The New York Times

China is building millions of housing units. But is the country building neighborhoods?

January 9 - The Wall Street Journal

Contracts have been signed on a tunnel project to replace the earthquake-damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle. But opponents are still trying to stop the project.

January 9 - The Seattle Times

Mayors of some of the biggest cities in the U.S. talk about what makes a city smart, and how cities can become smarter.

January 9 - Time

A floating city has been proposed to help ease some of the problems being faced by earthquake-damaged Haiti. But is this the answer the struggling country needs?

January 9 - The City Fix

Officials in St. Louis are looking to update the county's zoning codes to allow denser housing, and a greater mix of land uses.

January 9 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

<em>Fast Company</em> runs down a list of the "smartest" cities in the world. First place goes to Songdo City, in South Korea.

January 8 - Fast Company

Anthony Flint offers this list of the top ten reasons to be nice to pedestrians in 2011.

January 8 - The Boston Globe

In a controversial move, new Florida Governor Rick Scott has appointed Billy Buzzett, vice-president at a development company, to lead the state's Department of Community Affairs.

January 8 - The St. Petersburg Times

Critic Inga Saffron says that the interesting architecture and urban design is happening on the small scale: small parks, small houses and small plans.

January 8 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Advertising Age Magazine singled out "sustainability" as one of the most overused and misused words of the year.

January 7 - Triple Pundit

California's high-speed rail project is in fact going to be built despite the state's looming budget crisis, but many are beginning to question what kind of impact the project will have if the right development around train stations is not met.

January 7 - The Bay Citizen

As San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom prepares to leave for Sacramento to become Lt. Governor, he praises the latest road diet plan - reducing busy Cesar Chavez St. from 6-4 lanes with landscaped median and bike lanes and views it as part of his legacy

January 7 - San Francisco Chronicle

It's not just the High Speed Rail project making news these days in California. The three 79 mph, state-subsidized inter-city lines: Capitol Corridor, San Joaquin, and Pacific Surfliner (nation's second busiest), all registered riderships gains.

January 7 - San Francisco Chronicle

Julio César Pérez is a Cuban architect and urban planner. An art gallery is showing examples of his work, a perfect occasion to reflect back on what matters in architecture and planning, and lay out his vision for the future of Cuba.

January 7 - Cuban Art News

The cities that often top the "most livable" lists like San Francisco, Portland, Boston and D.C. also happen to have the lowest percentage of households with children. Does that mean that kids make places un-livable?

January 7 - Conservative Planner Blog

A panel of "frequent fliers" chooses the best cities to have a business meeting, a convention, and all-around business friendliness.

January 7 - The Globe and Mail

In this op-ed, Daniel Shoer Roth says that fast roads are still the be-all and end-all of transportation planning in South Florida.

January 7 - The Miami Herald