The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The city of Vancouver is going to begin requiring that a certain amount of electric car charging stations be included in all new residential developments.

July 14 - CBC

This op-ed piece in the Globe and Mail argues that plans for a high-speed rail link between the Albertan cities of Calgary and Edmonton makes eminent sense -- at least, according to the thinking of Richard Florida and colleagues.

July 14 - The Globe and Mail

Julia Galef takes a look at Secure Cities, a new website that maps the effect of security measures on public space since 9/11.

July 14 - Metropolis Magazine

The City of New York has unveiled its Housing Asset Renewal Program, a plan to revive stalled projects as affordable housing.

July 14 - The Architect's Newspaper

The late columnist Emmett Watson set the tone in Seattle for keeping the small bungalow, suburban character of the city. Today, New Urbanists and others are working to redefine Seattle's landscape post-Watson with denser, affordable buildings.

July 13 - The Seattle Times

This piece looks at a public art project that placed 30 pianos in public places throughout London in an effort to encourage more public interaction.

July 13 - The New York Times

Fighting gang crime in Los Angeles is as easy as leaving the lights on at neighborhood parks.

July 13 - The New York Times

The White House is setting forth on its long-planned mission to craft a federal urban policy program. The effort kicks off with a daylong conference today.

July 13 - The Washington Post

According to a new draft master plan, the Clairborne Expressway may be the next freeway to join the nation's growing highway to boulevard movement.

July 13 - The Times-Picayune

The Portuguese Coast is one of the most energetic in the world, and is the first country to have a commercial-scale wave energy device in the water. Now, they're planning a "pilot zone" for expanding the technology.

July 13 - Renewable Energy World

Officials in New Mexico, Colorado and Texas are pooling efforts to try to secure federal funding for a high speed rail link between their urban areas.

July 13 - The Houston Chronicle

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has said he wants to bring park programs back into the lives of urban dwellers. This piece argues that a good place for him to start is one of the few urban national parks at St. Louis' Gateway Arch.

July 13 - STL Today

Light rail is seen as a golden opportunity to revive inner cities. Not so fast, argues Alan Hoffman.

July 13 - Citiwire

FEATURE

Opinions are flying in the debate over whether or not ailing cities like Detroit should bulldoze their empty neighborhoods. John Kromer of the Fels Institute of Government adds a rational note with this op-ed, explaining what The Flint Model for shrinking cities actually entails.

July 13 - John Kromer

Abandoned and foreclosed properties are plaguing many cities. Now some are trying to turn the blight into prosperity by creating land banks to hold, remodel or demolish the properties -- and pull in some revenue while they're at it.

July 13 - USA Today

A New Zealand inventor has built a track for the world's first human-powered monorail called the Shweeb as part of an amusement park [Video]

July 12 - CTV

London's iconic red double-decker buses are going green.

July 12 - Wired

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has issued a directive that seeks to mandate healthy eating and food production in the city.

July 12 - San Francisco Chronicle

Michael Jackson's life would have been incredibly different (read: more normal) and lasted longer if he lived in New York instead of L.A., argues Gigi Levangie Grazer. She says the isolating qualities of L.A. enabled the downfall of the King of Pop.

July 12 - The Huffington Post

Budget issues are causing major issues for a handful of states. Neal Peirce argues these budget woes are a sign that states are making the wrong investments and that they idea of a state may be out of date.

July 12 - Citiwire