The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

In some cities the idea of adding a high rise is always dead on arrival, even if the city desperately needs to add density. For those communities facing similar challenges, a post on Blooming Rock offers five ways to think outside the high-rise box.

February 8 - Blooming Rock

Planners have good reason to be thoughtful on the occasion of Black History Month. One blogger offers reflections and insight that should inspire thoughtfulness the rest of the year, too.

February 8 - Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space

Anyone who uses a bike to navigate their city knows that every ride has stretches that are much more stressful than others. A new project collects data from brainwaves to map the stress levels of bikers in New York City.

February 8 - Wired

A column in The Week argues that notwithstanding Tuesday's horrific crash of a Metro-North train that killed five passengers, rail is a much safer mode than driving. However, rail deaths are increasing.

February 8 - The Week

Canadian cities are no strangers to rankings of the world's most functional, attractive cities. Even so, the mayors of Canada's 22 largest cities want national leaders in Ottawa to adopt an even more explicitly pro-urban national agenda.

February 8 - Toronto Globe and Mail

In some cities, it can feel like a new era of transportation—with new options like real-time bus arrival data, on-demand cars-for-hire, and more, all available through a smart phone. Which cities are out in front of the new world?

February 7 - Frontier Group

While Congress has subsidized the Highway Trust Fund with over $60 billion since 2008, some states may do the opposite, i.e., transfer funds from their gas tax-filled transportation trust funds to the state's general fund to cover operating expenses.

February 7 - AASHTO Journal

A Huffington Post article shares the stories of the fellows selected by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to present their work at the 2014 World Parks Congress in Australia.

February 7 - The Huffington Post

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission—the Bay Area's regional transportation planning agency—recently did fans of data and mapping a huge favor and launched a website called Vital Signs.

February 7 - LA.Streetsblog

New research provides sorely needed tools for illustrating the neighborhoods that suffer a lack of transportation options to access jobs and opportunity.

February 7 - Next City

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College have spent the last 18 months scouring the New York Subway in the search for a DNA profile of the system. They even created a map of the 15,152 microbes they found.

February 6 - Science Daily

A catastrophic event in Edgewater, New Jersey, in which a 408-unit apartment complex was gutted by fire, has inspired legislators to propose a moratorium on the materials and practices of "light frame construction."

February 6 - The Record

Under CEO Keith Parker, Atlanta's formerly desperate transit agency is picking up steam after suffering annual deficits of up to $33 million. The service area has expanded, the fleet is being modernized, and voters approved a new transit tax.

February 6 - CityLab

A new study by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation projects mobility patterns of 2045. With projected growth of 70 million people, the pressure is on to invest in infrastructure and bring transportation planning into the 21st century.

February 6 - The Washington Post

A neutral capital "district" may have sounded like a fine idea in the early 1800s. Today, Washington, D.C.—the burgeoning city, not the political fabrication—is crippled by the whims of Congress and a host of anti-urban policies.

February 6 - Next City

The three very different stories of the building trades in Atlanta, Denver, and Portland show just how much urban development patterns affect workers.

February 6 - Shelterforce

Ferries, New York City's first commuter mode, will return big-time if Mayor Bill de Blasio gets his way. Judging by how well the proposal in his February 3 State of the City address was received, he will.

February 6 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." -Heraclitus, as quoted by Plato in Cratylus.

February 6 - Vox

Movoto has produced a pair of rankings: "The 10 Nerdiest Cities in America" and "The 10 Nerdiest Small Cities in America." According to the lists, there must be something in the water in Georgia.

February 6 - Movoto Blog

For people who'd rather own a smart phone than a set of wheels, new types of mobile tech are making it increasingly easy to get around cities. A recent report ranks the metro areas that are making best use of these technologies. On top: Austin, TX

February 6 - Streetsblog USA