The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

One of the sad contradictions of the revival of core urban areas has been the clash between waves of investment and affluence with large populations of homelessness. Many cities are still coming to terms with the issue, much less solving it.

February 3 - The Wall Street Journal

The video game INFRA trades your typical Russian ultra-nationalists and Nazi zombies for a city on the verge of ruin. The protagonist, an engineer, is tasked with the seemingly mundane tasks that will bring the place back to life.

February 3 - CityLab

The only major candidate, Democrat or Republican, to call for an end to the contentious ethanol mandate won the Republican caucus, clearly beating Donald Trump. That could doom what many even in Iowa, among even some farmers, call a boondoggle.

February 3 - The New York Times - Politics

Lakeview, located north of Lincoln Park and adjacent to Lake Michigan, leads the city by a wide margin in residential teardowns over the past five years. Local developers are selling new homes for four times the original price paid.

February 3 - Crain's Chicago Business

Duncan McLaren and Julian Agyeman launch a withering critique of the sharing economy as we know it, and envision "sharing cities" built around technologies that put community before commerce.

February 3 - The Boston Globe

The U.S. Conference of Mayors recently released the results of the 2015 Menino Survey of Mayors, which finds political support for bike lanes has reached the highest ranks of local government.

February 3 - People for Bikes

The first five kilometers of a bike route that could eventually stretch 100 kilometers opened recently in Germany. An eventual "bike autobahn" could become even more expansive.

February 3 - CityLab

Three D.C. Metro stations will now include grocery delivery. The service could expand, especially if it raises revenues for the cash-strapped transit agency.

February 2 - The Washington Post

Philadelphia magazine says a staffing decision by new Mayor Jim Kenney is a big victory for urbanists and bike advocates.

February 2 - Philadelphia

Developers are predicting that the new $627.5 million arena to house the Detroit Red Wings, paid for with both private and public money, will spur another $596 million of investment in the neighborhood.

February 2 - Detroit Free Press

On the heels of the #NoNewRoads campaign, new Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner gave a "rousing" speech calling for the state of Texas to change its thinking about highway widening projects.

February 2 - Streetsblog USA

A new crop of developers are delivering fine-grained urbanism. Ben Brown checks into their boot camp and provides an update on the movement.

February 2 - PlaceShakers

Portland, Oregon Transportation Director Leah Treat quietly enacted one of the nation's most pro-bike policies last fall.

February 2 - People for Bikes

A former EPA official makes the case in a New York Times op-ed that the ethanol mandate, a major issue in Monday's presidential caucus in Iowa, the nation's top corn producer, is implemented so poorly that it is not benefiting the environment.

February 2 - The New York Times - The Opinion Pages

After adopting the Clearview font in 2004, ending the Highway Gothic in use since the 1960s, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration reversed course in January and will again require the older font. This small change matter a great deal.

February 2 - CityLab

Cuba and its capital city of Havana are experiencing several, simultaneous revolutions. The opportunity for residents is also an opportunity for developers and architects, as well as a challenge for planners.

February 2 - The Guardian Cities

London is one of the four U.K. cities that will become international pioneers of green vehicle technology, after getting £13 million (€17m, $18.5m) to boost the number of plug-in cars on their roads.

February 2 - Cities of the Future

Columbus, Ohio is expected to grow to 500,000 residents by 2050, but all recent efforts to raise the funds for a large investment in transit have stalled. The new City Council president wants to try again.

February 1 - Columbus Business First

Following recent bad news about the sluggish growth of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the Brooking Institution reminds policy makers that growth does not necessarily trickle down to economic well-being.

February 1 - Brookings Institution

Louisville, Kentucky has recently been named the "most rapidly growing urban heat island" in the U.S., but what led to this title? Jeff Byles traces how cities are becoming increasingly warm through a number of different factors, including economic.

February 1 - Doggerel