The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Public agencies need money to finance their projects. Private investors see opportunities for a decent return. Sounds like a perfect marriage, no? Not so fast, says Laura Barrett, who outlines 6 reasons to be wary of public-private partnerships.

April 15 - Rooflines

In order to facilitate the construction of more workforce housing, Houston is considering changing its development rules for the first time in 14 years. Will increasing density limits in the "doughnut" beyond Loop 610 help bring down prices?

April 15 - Houston Chronicle

In 2002, Louisiana lawmakers passed a 30 percent film tax credit. Since then, the state has become the third most productive in the industry, second only to New York and California.

April 15 - Atlantic Cities

BLOG POST

This year's host for the APA National Conference, themed "Plan Big," is the city that virtually invented modern big picture planning. But what does Chicago's seeming inability to plan comprehensively say about the state of contemporary planning?

April 14 - Jonathan Nettler

Springtime is outdoor living time. Make the most of yours with Susan Henderson's handy guide to garden rooms.

April 14 - PlaceShakers

On Friday, the D.C. Housing Authority mercifully closed its insultingly long public housing waiting list. With the average rent at $1,759/month for a one-bedroom apartment, the need for affordable housing in the city is tremendous.

April 14 - The Washington Post

With an "unprecedented" amount of development applications waiting for review, and the impending arrival of light rail linking to downtown L.A., seaside Santa Monica is growing up, literally. Sam Lubell examines the city's "development tsunami."

April 14 - The Architect's Newspaper

Phyllis Lambert explores the evolution of the Seagram Building, focusing on Mies van der Rohe's profound concern for the relationship between building and nature.

April 14 - Places Journal

Tim Logan dives deep on Mayor Rahm Emanuel's bold plan to help fund Chicago's infrastructure improvements with private capital. American cities need new ways to pay for projects, but can a city with a history of making bad deals provide the road map?

April 14 - Next City

BLOG POST

While the middle class sought the refuge in the suburbs in the 1960s and 1970s, it turns out that the crime they were fleeing had nothing to do with density, race, or even blight. Mother Jones magazine suggest that it was all because of lead.

April 13 - Josh Stephens

The quality of L.A.'s public structures falls far below its remarkable private residences. Greg Goldin argues why we should see the beauty in its greatest creations: its infrastructure and evolving collection of noisy storefronts.

April 13 - Zocalo Public Square

Although it was initiated long before his current term in office, Governor Jerry Brown has hitched his legacy to moving along California's high-speed rail project. He recently ventured to China in search of funding.

April 13 - Los Angeles Times

Inga Saffron tells the frustrating tale of how the owner of a lucrative billboard can derail an apartment tower planned for Philly's Old City neighborhood that planners have enthusiastically endorsed.

April 13 - philly.com

An impending lift of the ban on women cyclists could generate investment in much-needed biking infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

April 13 - Next City

A courtesy phone call from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to the owners of a luxury-car showroom designed by Frank Lloyd Wright was seemingly all it took to persuade them to demolish the historic interior.

April 13 - Crain's New York Business

Camille Standen interviews the reason why Victoria Station may be the subway station with the most positive vibrations in the world. Jamaican-born train conductor Carl Downer assists passengers with their travels and brightening their day.

April 12 - Vice

The votes are in and Tulsa has defeated Milwaukee in Streetsblog's inaugural tournament to recognize the worst parking crater in America. Fear not, though, Tulsans, some solutions have already been proposed to help address your dubious distinction.

April 12 - DC.Streetsblog

For the first time since the system was opened in 1976, Washington D.C.'s iconic subway stations are getting a substantial redesign. Preservationists and historians are questioning the appropriateness of the changes.

April 12 - The Washington Post

With the coming release of Chicago's new Complete Streets Design Guidelines, the city is undertaking a "seismic policy shift" in how it evaluates all transportation projects: by making pedestrians the primary mode for consideration.

April 12 - The Atlantic Cities

Environmentalists scored a major victory in federal court in their battle against fracking in California when a judge ruled that the BLM violated NEPA by not requiring an environmental review prior to auctioning rights for drilling in Monterey Co.

April 12 - The Monterey County Herald