The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>The Washington D.C. Metro transit system is planning to hire a group of "mystery riders" to discretely monitor the system and identify areas for improvement. Critics call the plan a waste of money.</p>

April 28 - The Washington Post

<p>That's how many are expected to inhabit the world by 2050. Experts worry over looming food shortages.</p>

April 28 - The Christian Science Monitor

<p>A recent report argues that tolls could provide the solution to Seattle's traffic congestion, but they would have to be very high, and very widely used.</p>

April 28 - The Seattle Times

<p>This video from <em>CBC</em> looks at how Victoria, British Columbia, plans to mimic the efforts of Portland, Oregon, to reduce homelessness by taking a "housing first" approach.</p>

April 28 - CBC News: The National

FEATURE

Neighborhoods -- their habits, their participants, and their values -- are what create and define value in a city and in a home. Cities need to embrace this fact if they want to preserve values and retain residents.

April 28 - Charles Buki

<p>The City Manager of Portland, Maine terminates 98 positions, including the Urban Designer and Historic Preservation staff, eliminates the Parks Department, and moves the Economic Development department in to the Administrative office.</p>

April 28 - Portland Press Herald

<p>A former bus and rail yard in park-poor South Los Angeles will be converted into an "urban wetland park".</p>

April 27 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>A new study shows that supermarkets have migrated away from Canada's central and poorer neighborhoods, turning them into 'food deserts' with minimal access to more expensive food.</p>

April 27 - The Windsor Star

<p>Officials in the United Kingdom are looking at a new technique to deal with frozen winter roads -- by collecting and saving summer heat.</p>

April 27 - The Guardian

<p>"Cat cafes" are popping up all over Tokyo, giving patrons the company of a cat -- without the burden of actually owning one. There are at least seven cat cafes in Tokyo.</p>

April 27 - The Christian Science Monitor

<p>Vacant lots and underutilized dirt patches are the the romping grounds of a new breed of activists. Known as "guerrilla gardeners", groups of people all over the world are reclaiming their cities' public spaces and landscapes by planting seeds.</p>

April 27 - The Guardian

<p>New earthquake hazard maps from the U.S. Geological Survey show increased earthquake risk areas beyond typical hotspots like California. Geologists say planners and local officials should react to the maps by updating building codes.</p>

April 26 - Discovery

<p>Plans for a 4.6 km tramway have been announced for downtown Burj Dubai -- a $136 million transit system intended to link major developments in the rapidly rising emirate.</p>

April 26 - Arabian Business

BLOG POST

<img src="/files/u4/20080425-cable-map.png" alt="Submarine Cable Map, courtesty of Telegeography (http://www.telegeograph.com)" title="Submarine Cable Map, courtesty of Telegeography (http://www.telegeograph.com)" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="243" height="179" align="right" />So how do you permit and build a 4,000-mile undersea communication cable system? And why do we care?<br />

April 26 - Chris Steins

<p>The vast majority of LEED-certified green buildings in the U.S. are located in major cities, leading some to wonder whether there might be an inherent bias in LEED's standards.</p>

April 26 - CoStar Group

<p>A survey of residents in metro Atlanta shows that 58% of residents would support an additional 1-cent tax to fund public transit.</p>

April 26 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

<p><em>Streetfilms</em> looks at the livable streets movement in Paris and a twice-weekly "critical mass" over roller skaters that often brings crowds of thousands.</p>

April 26 - Streetsblog

<p>After noticing a illegally parked police car, a Portland, Oregon lawyer made use of a state law provision that allows private citizens to issue parking tickets.</p>

April 25 - USA Today

he satirical news show The Colbert Report takes a look at the "BumBot"—a robot used by an Atlanta bar owner to dispel vagrants from his property. Some citizens say the robot is dehumanizing, but others call it a hero.

April 25 - Colbert Report

<p>As proposals for big-box retail projects mount in New Orleans, many small business owners who are returning to the city worry about the coming competition. A documentary is currently being filmed about the recovering city's business atmosphere.</p>

April 25 - New Orleans Times-Picayune