The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Philadelphia Riverfront Plan Brings Transformation Closer to Reality

For more than 40 years, the city of Philadelphia has had its sights set on transforming the Delaware Riverfront, but few plans have taken hold and little transformation has actually occurred. A new master plan could finally make it happen.

October 21 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Asian Cities Face High Risks

Kathmandu, Manila, Dhaka, Mumbai and Jakarta are among the cities most prone to natural disasters, says The Guardian.

October 21 - Guardian

Federal Transportation Funds For Highway Removal?

The second round of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) funds were announced Oct. 20. Awards amounting to $600 million will go to 75 projects, including three highway teardowns.

October 21 - Grist

Science in the City

The latest issue of <em>Nature</em> looks at the implications of an increasingly urban world on the field of science, and the field's impact on cities.

October 21 - Nature

Abu Dhabi Eyes Tram Network by 2014

Feasibility studies underway in Abu Dhabi predict that a new light rail tram network could be operational by 2014.

October 21 - Arabian Business


Griffin on Revising and Repurposing Detroit

<em>Architect Magazine</em> talks with Toni Griffin, the urban planner who's leading the effort to rewrite Detroit's comprehensive plan to help the city through troubled times.

October 21 - Architect Magazine

LEED Critic Files $100M Lawsuit Against USGBC

In a complaint on behalf of 'consumers, taxpayers, building design and construction professionals,' Henry Gifford alleges the USGBC has falsely claimed its ratings system leads to energy savings.

October 21 - Environmental Leader


Time's Up for Parking Meters

75 years after the first meter was installed in Oklahoma City, cities are beginning to rethink traditional parking regulation strategies. Tom Vanderbilt considers the options.

October 21 - Slate

The Other Creative Class

Charles Landry, like Richard Florida, is focused on the importance of talent in the economic health of cities. But Landry defines the "creative class" much more broadly.

October 20 - strategy+business

Height Restrictions Mean High Prices in DC

Responding to a report by the Washington Post that office rents have now topped those in Manhattan, Matt Yglesias says the district's austere zoning is to blame.

October 20 - Think Progress

What Infrastructure Crisis?

Transportation policy expert, Ken Orski, takes a different perspective in his column, "Living in Denial". Rather placing the blame on the American public and lawmakers denying the infrastructure crisis, he applies it to the transportation community.

October 20 - InfrastructureUSA

Motorists May Be Asked To Pay Ozone Penalty

San Joaquin Valley's bad air will cause their air district a $29 million fine for exceeding federal ozone limits - and they plan to ask motorists to pay the bill, if the board supports the new registration fee.

October 20 - The New York Times - Environment

China's "Dubai" a Ghost Town

An ambitious new development outside the Chinese city of Ordos lies empty.

October 20 - The New York Times

Why Kids Can't and Won't Walk to School in Laguna Beach

Getting kids to walk to school has been a nationwide campaign for years. But some places say it's just not safe. Some urban forms -- like that of Laguna Beach, California -- prove it.

October 20 - NRDC Switchboard

The Downfall of 'the Paris of the Middle East'

Historic architecture is rapidly being replaced by cookie-cutter high-rises in Cairo, much to the displeasure of local architects and historians.

October 20 - BBC

Private Development Bringing Quality Public Space

The relocation of a museum in San Francisco offers a model for how private developments can create quality public space, writes John King.

October 20 - San Francisco Chronicle

Neighborhoods As Employment Centers

The spatial needs of commerce and employment are shifting, and cities need to focus on bringing employment centers back to neighborhoods, argues Jay Hoekstra.

October 20 - Terrain.org

Solar's Record Year

A new report shows that solar panel installation has increased to record levels in 2010. Throughout the first half of 2010, 339 megawatts of grid-connected solar capacity were installed.

October 20 - Good

Largest Single Project in Boston's History Approved

The new 23-acre Seaport Square in the South Boston waterfront district will bring a mix of uses and ample parkland to a former railroad property.

October 19 - The Architect's Newspaper

Levee Construction Around New Orleans Enters a Period of Uncertainty

The Times-Picayune reports that the Army Corps of Engineers, under pressure from penny-pinched local governments, has commenced a new pilot study that potentially relaxes the new, stricter standards for levees it set in place post-Katrina.

October 19 - The Times-Picayune

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