The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The factors that make homes attractive to buyers have changed considerably since the market crash, says Builder Magazine, which features three homes that exemplify the new realities of the market.

October 14 - Builder Magazine

In an interview with the New York Times, President Obama admits that, quote, "there’s no such thing as shovel-ready projects."

October 14 - Transportation Nation

A controversial $2.5 B wind farm planned off the shores of Cape Cod is touted by supporters as a way to jumpstart the state's green economy. Beth Daley argues the project was rushed to the drawing board despite not making economic sense.

October 14 - The Boston Globe

FEATURE

The objectives of urban redevelopment and meeting the needs of underserved communities are not mutually exclusive goals, says Carlton Eley.

October 14 - Carlton Eley

Rio de Janeiro is building a 3.4 km urban gondola in the Complexo do Alemao favelas. The system is on track to be operational by the end of the year.

October 14 - The Gondola Project

BLOG POST

<p> <span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt"><span style="font-family: Calibri">I’ve worked on designing, planning and preparing the way for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) projects around the world. For some reason this particular proposed TOD caught my attention. Maybe because I thought I was an expert and in this case I was caught off guard. Or maybe because TOD advocates have made so much progress collectively and yet there is still so far to go. Probably a bit of both. </span></span> </p>

October 14 - G.B. Arrington

BLOG POST

With the passing in February 2010 of Canada&#39;s last surviving Great War veteran, we no longer have a living link to that conflict. Its infamous miseries, desolate battlefields, poison-gas attacks and industrial-scale slaughter are known to us now only through history. <p> While the veterans themselves are silent, Manitoba historian Jim Blanchard reminds us in his new book <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Winnipegs-Great-War-City-Comes/dp/088755721X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1287069475&amp;sr=1-1"><em>Winnipeg&#39;s Great War</em></a> that the city of Winnipeg has its own story to tell about the First World War.

October 14 - Michael Dudley

A zoning proposal in DuPage County would ban construction of 'meeting places,' including religious institutions, in unincorporated residential areas. The County says it's a question of infrastructure. Muslim leaders wonder if it's Islamophobia.

October 14 - WBEZ 91.5

President Obama has announced plans to spend an additional $50 billion on the nation's infrastructure as a means of remaining competitive internationally and boosting employment.

October 14 - McClatchey Newspapers

Bicycle advocates in London is calling on citizens to tell the city, via the web, where more bike parking is needed for the city's fledgling bike sharing program.

October 14 - Guardian

Two recent studies suggest urban areas and geographic regions have distinctive temperaments.

October 14 - The Infrastructurist

The American Planning Association has released its 2010 selections for great public spaces, streets and neighborhoods, ranging from a sculpture garden in Alabama to New York's transformed Bryant Park.

October 13 - American Planning Association

This 6-minute video looks at how New York City streets have changed after a mere three years of planning. Pedestrian plazas, bike lanes, and bus rapid transit are the major projects highlighted, and the improvements to economy, health, and happiness

October 13 - Grist

A variety of controversial planning policies and high-profile development projects in Melbourne have led to widespread resident frustration, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. Could planning issues change the city's larger political equation?

October 13 - The Sydney Morning Herald

BLOG POST

<p> Every so often, I read something describing defenders of sprawl as &quot;contrarians&quot;, implying that they are underdogs fighting against the elitist, anti-sprawl Establishment. For example, when I did a google.com search for sites including Robert Bruegmann (author of one of the better defenses of the status quo) and the word &quot;contrarian&quot; I found over 1400 &quot;hits.&quot;  Similarly, a search for websites using the terms &quot;smart growth&quot; and &quot;elitist&quot; yielded over 6000 hits. </p> <p> But realistically, most of the U.S. built environment is sprawl by any concievable definition. So how can it be &quot;contrarian&quot; to defend the status quo? </p>

October 13 - Michael Lewyn

Boise, Idaho attempts to find common ground between its vision for the future and the need for economic development.

October 13 - The Idaho Statesman

A collaboration between five different neighborhood-focused federal efforts seeks to aid and inspire neighborhood revitalization.

October 13 - Next American City

The fractured state of planning at various levels of government in the U.S. is limiting the potential of good ideas, according to this critique from <em>Next American City</em>.

October 13 - Next American City

Architecture professor William W. Braham examines the growing trend of "self-powered", "zero-energy" and "zero waste" buildings through the lens of survivalism.

October 13 - Places

A group in Detroit has begun an effort to sell of one-inch parcels of land in the city for $1.

October 13 - Boing Boing