The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Last week we looked at the dangers of focusing on transportation fantasies. But alas, entrepreneur Elon Musk's vision for a "fifth form" of transportation is here and we just can't help ourselves.

August 13 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Claudia and George Klousoulas examine how designers have used light as a building material in the parking garages of Miami Beach -- with a slideshow.

August 12 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built + Natural Environments

In the aftermath of the disappointing defeat of a one-cent regional sales tax transportation measure, the city council is considering two measures to raise transportation revenue, one being a parking tax based on a Georgia Tech masters thesis.

August 12 - Creative Loafing Atlanta

Harsh climate and persistent drought have accelerated New Mexico's desertification over three years of record-breaking heat. With 87% of the Western U.S. experiencing a drought, is New Mexico the canary in the coal mine for an increasingly arid area?

August 12 - Los Angeles Times

As the Keystone XL pipeline project remains mired in political muck, a second pipeline project is quietly moving toward approval.

August 12 - Grist

FEATURE

Our annual list of the 10 best planning, design, and development websites represents some of the top online resources for news, information and research on the built environment.

August 12 - Jonathan Nettler

The nation's largest oil and natural gas producer is flush with revenue from energy production. If Gov. Rick Perry signs the bill supported by two-thirds of both chambers, voters will decide whether to use about $1.2 billion of it annually for roads.

August 12 - KUHF Houston Public Radio

Recent controversies surrounding large-scale projects in Hollywood approved without comprehensive seismic evaluations reveal gaps between California construction laws and the City of Los Angeles's ability to enforce them.

August 12 - Los Angeles Times

Much has been said about Millennials — the generation born from 1980 through the late 1990s, sometimes called Gen Y and Echo Boomers — choosing downtown living. Is it in rebellion to their suburban upbringing, or something more?

August 12 - Better! Cities & Towns

A recent book explores the ways in which the world's ubiquitous construction toys - Lincoln Logs, Legos, Meccano, etc. - have impacted budding architects, and proposes a connection between building for play and building for pay.

August 12 - The Financial Times

While protected bike lanes have yet to be recognized by AASHTO, they are en route to being recognized by US DOT, writes Green Lane Project's Michael Andersen. With federal guidance, transportation engineers may be more willing to build cycle tracks.

August 12 - Green Lane Project

The Motor City is the not the only victim of the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Local governments across Michigan are now encountering substantial obstacles to borrowing amid concerns about the security of municipal bonds.

August 12 - The New York Times

The End of Night author Paul Bogard works with photography student Jennifer Tremblay to showcase light pollution in the Shenandoah Valley town of Harrisonburg.

August 11 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built + Natural Environments

The startup Renew has taken targeted advertising to a whole new level. Its Internet-connected recycling bins look for cell phones they recognize, then alter their video displays accordingly.

August 11 - Quartz

The $500 million Renaissance Center, a 2.9-mile People Mover, and new downtown sports stadiums are just some of the grand schemes that were supposed to help arrest Detroit's decades-long decline.

August 11 - The Washington Post

25 years ago, the conversion of 1950's era public housing into a mixed-income community on Columbia Point in Boston provided the template for the federal government's Hope VI program. How has this seminal project withstood the test of time?

August 11 - Architect

Britain's grand plan to halve travel times between the country's biggest cities and expand economic growth outside London via high-speed rail is getting pushback from the very places it's meant to help.

August 11 - The New York Times

New data supports Paul Krugman's contention that sprawl inhibits the American Dream.

August 10 - Better! Cities & Towns

Sarah Goodyear describes the greater implications of the carnage caused by a motorist intent on mowing down as many pedestrians as possible on the Venice boardwalk in L.A. on August 03. It wasn't the first time a car caused mayhem in a public space.

August 10 - The Atlantic Cities

The preliminary results are in for America's most ambitious experiment in demand-based parking pricing. Among the surprises: the average price at the spaces participating in San Francisco's pioneering program actually declined by 1 percent.

August 10 - SF.Streetsblog