The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Part street furniture, part advertisement for public transit, part public art—the designers of a new bus stop installation in Baltimore call it "an obvious bus stop."

August 11 - Slate

The Philadelphia Museum of Art hired Frank Gehry for its new renovation, opening up the opportunity for an exciting old-meets-new architectural statement. But after six years of planning, the design that emerged is uninspiring.

August 11 - Urban Direction

An examination of the challenges facing the solar industry in Southeastern states, like Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida, where utilities and governments have largely blocked residents and businesses from tapping their solar resources.

August 11 - Los Angeles Times

Inherently unlovable buildings—no matter how energy efficient—lacks the stuff of longevity. How can your EcoDistrict design for lovable buildings? It may not include tearing down the historic stock.

August 11 - PlaceShakers

The Denver Post writes about Brad Buchanan, who in February became the executive director of the Denver Department of Community Planning and Development.

August 11 - Denver Post

Joseph Stromberg examines the question of how safe it is for bikers to wear headphones—a common practice for which there is no safety data.

August 11 - Vox

BLOG POST

Exploding housing costs and changing social attitudes are altering the demographics of established gay neighborhoods in several big cities. As communities become more fluid, do we risk losing their culture?

August 11 - Mark Hough

An online mapping tool called HealthMap helped identify the recent outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa by pulling data from all over the big data spectrum. It can also tell provide insight into the health concerns in your area.

August 11 - PBS NewsHour - The Rundown

An article on The Daily Beast provides an in-depth portrait of the ethos and politics of a blog known as Vanishing New York—a militantly nostalgic platform that laments the loss of New York's former urban glories.

August 11 - The Daily Beast

Cities tend to attract Millennials, but as the saying goes, when they get older and start families, off they go to the suburbs! Seattle developer and author A-P Hurd promotes parking unbundling as a key strategy enabling families to remain in cities.

August 11 - CityLab

Jason Fargo follows the announcement that the FBI will soon set up shop outside of the infamous and despised J Edgar Hoover Building in Washington D.C. by listing six buildings that residents of cities "love to hate."

August 10 - Guardian

California planning expert Bill Fulton discusses a long-awaited proposal from the Governor's Office of Planning and Research that would shift the state's traffic impact assessments away from their current focus on traffic congestion.

August 10 - California Planning and Development Report

San Francisco's Department of Environment will soon begin enforcing the city's mandatory commuter benefits program for the first time since the law's inception in 2009. Fines up to $500 may be levied for noncompliance after warning notices are sent.

August 10 - San Francisco Examiner

The limitations (and inaccuracies) of traditional data sources like the U.S. Census are well known, so researchers are looking social media to gather the data necessary to draw conclusions about societal movements.

August 10 - Forbes

Owners of a 173-acre office campus in Simsbury, Connecticut are hoping that by adopting a form-based code as a guide for potential redevelopment of the site, potential buyers have more reason to pull the trigger on a deal.

August 10 - Hartford Business Journal

The neighborhood of Greenmount West provides a case study of neighborhoods exposed to the risks of gentrification as a result of cultural changes and pointed policy measures meant to reverse the status quo in crime and poverty ridden neighborhoods.

August 9 - Next City

An article by Steven Snell summarizes the drawbacks of building vertical cities.

August 9 - Fast Forward Weekly

Preventing gas tax and vehicle registration fee revenues from being used for non-transportation purposes is seen as key to increasing transportation revenue, be it through raising gas taxes or approving new revenue options, in Maryland and Wisconsin.

August 9 - Transport Topics

Few cities have such a passionate love affair with their NFL franchise as does Buffalo with its Bills. Given the current questions about ownership and the age of its current stadium, could a new stadium help revitalize the city?

August 9 - ArtVoice

Steve Cuozzo absolutely eviscerates the under-construction World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York City, designed by Santiago Calatrava.

August 9 - New York Post