The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The city of San Francisco will vote on Prop. B, an ordinance that would limit the height of developments along the waterfront, in June. The ballot will list the campaign manager for the Yes on B campaign as the official opponent of the measure.

March 14 - SFGate

The concept of surveying residents to get their take on a development may seem like a simple idea, but it is no easy task. Planner Clement Lau shares key lessons learned about conducting and creating surveys as part of the planning process.

March 14 - Los Angeles UrbDeZine

Philadelphia recently became the largest U.S. city to create a “land bank.” As new land banks spring up across the country, it is important to take a close look at what needs to accompany them if we want to have real impact.

March 14 - Urban Direction

Yes, one is with and the other without oxygen, and both divert waste from the landfill—but in terms of the end products, what is the advantage of anaerobic digestion? Simply put, does society face a shortage of compost or renewable energy?

March 14 - NPR Morning Edition

The Greater London Authority recently published the “Further Alterations to the London Plan” report, which set aggressive targets for housing in the booming city. Now details are emerging about how Mayor Boris Johnson hopes to incentivize housing.

March 14 - Planning Resource

If you fancy yourself a modern-day John Wesley Powell, but to this point haven’t climbed on a raft headed Grand Canyon way, Google recently released a series of “Street View” style photos from the very bottom of that most famous natural landmark.

March 14 - AP via San Jose Mercury News

BLOG POST

You do not hear much talk about meaningful urbanism in the Southeast U.S. Until political winds shift, don't expect that to change.

March 14 - Mark Hough

You probably didn't end up on your community's planning commission because of your lack of opinions. Now that you are performing this service to the community, how do you balance your past political inclinations and maintain a fair process?

March 14 - PlannersWeb

A repair crew was en route to investigate a complaint of gas odor when the two five-story, one-hundred-year-old buildings in East Harlem exploded, killing seven with eight still missing as of press time. Leaking cast iron pipelines may be to blame.

March 14 - WNYC

Millennials are fascinating, that much is clear. But maybe the youngest generation isn't as easily generalized and described as some journalists and researchers would like to believe they are.

March 14 - MillennialMadLibs.com

SPUR states its case clearly by announcing, “We believe cities are the key to our future” at the opening of a new report called “SPUR’s Agenda for Change.”

March 13 - Next City

MIT’s Senseable City Lab produced a beautiful visualization of every taxi ride taken in New York City in 2011. More valuable than the pretty pictures, however, are the insights the data provide about creating a more efficient transportation system.

March 13 - Atlantic Cities

The market forces that push developers and landowners to build “more” and “bigger” have cropped up in some of the swankiest neighborhoods in Portland. So far, neighbors who oppose the projects are finding scant legal recourse to prevent the changes.

March 13 - The Oregonian

A strange scene this week: members of Congress discussing height restrictions in one of the country's largest urban centers. In the end, a House committee approved a bill that would loosen D.C.’s century-old Height of Buildings Act.

March 13 - Washington Business Journal

While many of the cities leading the resurgence in the popularity of biking are growing, Pittsburgh has found its own reasons for making the city a better place to bike.

March 13 - Streetsblog USA

The Oregon Legislature adjourned this week with no actions regarding the Columbia River Crossing—a controversial project with opponents on either side of the aisle.

March 13 - The Oregonian

The city of Yakima, Washington, is exploring ideas to convert two large surface parking lots occupying valuable land in the city’s downtown core into a pedestrian friendly district.

March 13 - Crosscut.com

A recent article laments the missed opportunity of President Obama’s recent calls for increased spending on infrastructure: a lack of acknowledgement that cities are the best places to spend those dollars.

March 13 - Governing

In 2006, New York City signed contracts for private-public partnerships that would deliver a variety of street furniture throughout the city. To date, 3,355 bus shelters, 304 newsstands, and three (3) public toilets have been built.

March 13 - New York Times - City Room Blog

Transportation network companies like Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar are growing quickly. A recent article examines the potential of such networks to build new efficiencies into urban transportation, as well as some of the risks to that potential.

March 13 - LA.Streetsblog