The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The updated designs for an ambitious project to remake car-clogged Figueroa Street as a transit-, pedestrian-, and bicycle-friendly complete street have been made public in advance of a community meeting next month.

March 26 - LA.Streetsblog

Arlington County, Virginia has opened the new $1 million Columbia Pike bus stop to popular disbelief. The prototype station will eventually accommodate buses and streetcars.

March 26 - The Washington Post

The conversion of an historic art deco baseball stadium in Indianapolis into loft apartments is one of the most inventive adaptive re-use projects we've ever seen.

March 26 - The Architect's Newspaper

In an essay for Grist, Tom Laskawy laments the departure of deputy secretary Kathleen Merrigan, the Obama administration's "most powerful supporter of local and organic foods," from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

March 25 - Grist

A new study analyzing the amenities in 165 parks in the four-county Kansas City metro region found that low-income neighborhoods suffer from a lack of play spaces, despite having more parks per capita, reports Emily Badger.

March 25 - The Atlantic Cities

With growth rates expected to continue to surpass the United States and Europe over the next decade, U.S.-based developers are making big bets on the demand for residential, office, and retail properties in Brazil, Uruguay, and Colombia.

March 25 - The New York Times

With growing populations demanding more food and growing borders requiring more land, cities are one of the primary challenges to feeding the world's hunger problem. Can they also be the solution?

March 25 - Citiwire.net

Driving accounts for 62 percent of all trips in San Francisco - the same level as when the city's pioneering transit-first policy was adopted 40 years ago. Aaron Bialick looks at the reasons why the policy has led to "scant visible progress."

March 25 - SF.Streetsblog

With booming shale oil production in North Dakota and Texas and possibly Canada's vast oil sands, there is talk of energy independence as the U.S. reduces its oil imports. But why not be less dependent on oil - domestic or imported?

March 25 - The New York Times - Sunday Review

Christopher Hawthorne continues his exploration of the changing face of Los Angeles, as seen along its boulevards, with an examination of the street where the city has perpetually "embraced and tested out the future" - Wilshire Boulevard.

March 25 - Los Angeles Times

San Antonio City Design Center's Executive Manager Mark Brodeur describes his observations of the nationwide trend in cities establishing independent urban design departments.

March 25 - UrbDeZine.com

Faced with paralyzing gridlock, North America's fourth-largest city is studying several potential solutions for easing congestion - including traffic lights that think for themselves.

March 25 - The Globe and Mail

Alan Feuer profiles the work of New York City's Office of Policy and Strategic Planning, a "geek squad of civic-minded number-crunchers" turning the city's trove of digital data into actionable information.

March 25 - The New York Times

A new study conducted by the Center for Neighborhood Technology shows that homes in close proximity to transit stations lost much less of their value during the collapse of the housing market, reports Tanya Snyder.

March 24 - DC.Streetsblog

A new study conducted by the City of New York shows that after years of phenomenal growth, commuter cycling remained flat in 2012 during the typical riding season, reports Matt Flegenheimer. However, ridership during the colder months did increase.

March 24 - The New York Times

How well could today's futurists predict how everyday life will change by 2038? This was the task that the Los Angeles Times Magazine embarked on in 1988. A class of graduate students at USC has been looking into which predictions came true.

March 24 - Los Angles Times

A two-year negotiating process has culminated with a set of 15 voluntary standards to make for more responsible fracking to safeguard the environment in Appalachia. Some environmental groups are skeptical, and not all energy companies are on board.

March 24 - National Public Radio

Chicagoans sure take their urban agriculture seriously. While the city focuses on converting vacant land to farms in some of the city's struggling neighborhoods, entrepreneurs are doing the same indoors.

March 24 - Huff Post: Chicago Impact

Data from the Federal Railroad Administration shows that rail is competing well (and mostly winning) against air to claim market share in eight major city-pairs, many outside of the traditionally strong Northeast Corridor.

March 23 - Better Institutions

One of the nation's most-watched and complex gas tax bills made significant progress in the House of Delegates. It retained one of its most significant parts, indexing the tax (and transit fares) to inflation, overcoming opposition by Republicans.

March 23 - The Baltimore Sun