The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>Plans are moving forward to redevelop a massive railyard site near downtown Sacramento. It could be a major boon for the city, but as <em>California Planning and Development Report</em>'s Paul Shigley writes, the city should moved ahead cautiously.</p>

December 20 - California Planning & Development Report

<p>According to a privately-commissioned study, doubling the proposed New York congestion fee charged to drivers would generate enough money to replace all proceeds derived form transit fares in the city, making fares unnecessary.</p>

December 20 - Streetsblog

<p>Architect Teddy Cruz takes a drive through the convoluted and complex city of Tijuana in this article from <em>The Next American City</em>.</p>

December 19 - The Next American City

<p>Cities around the globe are making a variety of green efforts, offering models for cities looking to capitalize on th benefits of environmental planning.</p>

December 19 - Environmental News Network

<p>As one of the only major U.S. cities that has no turnstiles at its rail stations, Los Angeles is feeling the pinch of riders who don't pay. But now, local officials are trying to get turnstiles installed.</p>

December 19 - NPR

<p>The non-profit neighborhood housing group Hope Community has renovated ten houses, built 126 affordable rental units, and has two mixed income projects under way in one depressed and crime-ridden Minneapolis block.</p>

December 19 - The New York Times

<p>New buses being added to Victoria, British Columbia's transit fleet are being warmly welcomed, but this editorial argues much more needs to be done to deal with the area's increasing congestion and mobility issues.</p>

December 19 - Times Colonist

<p>After denying plans for a subdivision, the city of Half Moon Bay, California, was sued. The city lost and now must pay a settlement of nearly $40 million -- more than three times the city's annual budget. Many worry the city may have to fold.</p>

December 19 - The San Francisco Chronicle

<p>County officials in New York are looking to transform Levittown -- often called the nation's first suburb -- into the nation's first green suburb.</p>

December 19 - The New York Times

<p>Idaho's Treasure Valley has garnered 150 days of air quality alerts in 2007, but is still considered safe by federal air quality standards. With further growth expected, many are concerned that air quality will not be so safe next year.</p>

December 19 - The Idaho Statesman

<p>In this commentary from <em>Bloomberg</em>, James S. Russell looks as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's threat to withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars worth of housing vouchers from New Orleans and the future of the city.</p>

December 19 - Bloomberg

A personal rapid transit (PRT) system is currently under construction as part of the renovation of London's Heathrow airport. The system is on track to begin operations within two years.

December 19 - BBC

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal">MINNEAPOLIS--If not for the <a href="http://www.walkerart.org" target="_blank">Walker Art Center</a> I would have scant reason to spend extra time in Minneapolis.<span> </span>Minneapolis is not lacking for charm or culture, but it certainly falls in that middle range of American cities, somewhere between New York and nondescript, which is to say that it is not a destination in and of itself, yet it offers reasons to extend a stay for those who find themselves so far north for other reasons. </p>

December 18 - Josh Stephens

<p>The governors of Florida, Alabama and Georgia have come to a tentative agreement on how to divvy up the water supplied by shared rivers, giving hope that the 17-year water rights battle between the states may soon come to an end.</p>

December 18 - The St. Petersburg Times

<p>Atlanta's traffic problems are beginning to affect businesses' decisions to relocate there.</p>

December 18 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

<p>Owning a home may appeal to primitive happiness-seeking instincts, but the resulting suburban isolation and solitary commutes many people face may be making us profoundly unhappy, writes Charles Montgomery.</p>

December 18 - The Walrus

<p>A wind turbine installed in one weekend is saving homeowners about 80% on their electricity bills.</p>

December 18 - The New York Times

<p>Buyers looking to snatch up renter-occupied foreclosed homes and apartment buildings are meeting opposition from mortgage companies who want all tenants out before a sale. This leaves many buyers unsatisfied and many renters feeling insecure.</p>

December 18 - The Boston Globe

<p>High-tech businesses and industries are popping up in more and more rural towns, bringing jobs and boosting the economies of these small areas.</p>

December 18 - The Christian Science Monitor

BLOG POST

<p><font size="3"><u><span style="font-family: Arial">Question</span></u><span style="font-family: Arial">: What do Keybank Tower in Cleveland, the Kettering Tower in Dayton, and One Seagate in Toledo have in common? </span></font></p><p><font size="3"><u><span style="font-family: Arial">Answer</span></u><span style="font-family: Arial">: They are their respective city’s tallest buildings, and they were built <em>after</em> their city’s population peaked.</span></font></p>

December 18 - Samuel Staley