The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Ventura, CA, City Manager Rick Cole Op-ed argues for a comprehensive paradigm shift in the real estate and development industries.

April 5 - The Planning Report

BLOG POST

<p style="margin: 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">I would like to expand an ongoing debate between Reason Foundation policy expert Samuel Staley and me concerning land use policy impacts on affordability and economic stability to include two additional issues: <em>household economic resilience</em> and <em>wealth accumulation</em>. <span> </span></span></span> </p>

April 4 - Todd Litman

Charlotte politicians have been pushing for the completion of a freeway loop around the city -- a $220 million project. Mary Newsom argues that road funding would better serve the city and the region if it were directed to Charlotte's transit system.

April 4 - The Naked City

Environmental issues are becoming a growing concern in China, and officials there seem ready to begin addressing them.

April 4 - BBC

Online sources for house plans are cutting the architect out of the home building process. One site is now making available the plans of well-known architects like William Turnbull.

April 4 - Fast Company

How do you turn a cul-de-sac into a commune? It's easier than you think, according to this piece from NPR.

April 4 - NPR

Apropos to the debates dominating the G20 conference in London, former U.S. Trade Rep and Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor argues for trade as the centerpiece of economic and environmental sustainability.

April 4 - The Planning Report

This piece from <em>The Onion</em> presents the incredibly simple solution to the nation's economic troubles: build more houses.

April 3 - The Onion

The city of Vancouver is hoping to reduce its energy use and carbon emissions by hiring a goat to maintain the grounds at city hall. Though the mayor wants to expand the goat program to schools and parks, some have reservations.

April 3 - The Vancouver Courier

Florida's real estate meltdown is leading to a second crisis: so many condo owners have stopped paying their fees that associations have had to cut back on maintenance and repairs, leading some to fear a "death spiral" for condos.

April 3 - Yahoo! News

An exit interview with Tom Graff, who joined Environmental Defense Fund in 1971, when the environmental movement was just getting started.

April 3 - The Planning Report

Ypsilanti, Michigan, has been a GM factory town for more than 50 years. With the recent ouster of GM CEO Rick Wagoner by the federal government, many in the oft-shaken town are worried about its future.

April 3 - Los Angeles Times

Urban policy is looking to be a major element of President Barack Obama's administration. Though it hasn't quite taken shape yet, this piece argues it's a good sign for cities and metropolitan regions.

April 3 - Governing

The state of Florida has announced plans to drastically scale back efforts to buy and preserve land in the Everglades.

April 3 - The New York Times

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<!--StartFragment--><p style="text-indent: 0.5in" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size: 16px" class="Apple-style-span">The American economy has long relied upon technological innovation to drive its economy. Today,basic investment in science and technology is once again taking center stage,as a cure for both our economic and environmental ills.</span></p>

April 3 - Anthony Townsend

Portland's Metro authority is mapping out the region's transit plans for the next 30 years, and the public is getting involved.

April 3 - The Oregonian

The Waxman-Markey bill doesn't apportion the revenues received from the sale of carbon credits, a key issue yet to be decided. Renewable electricity, greener cars, low carbon fuels, and a carbon reduction goal are all parts of this comprehensive bill

April 3 - The New York Times

According to this opinion piece, planners must ease up on "big bang" planning--an approach centered around sweeping changes with fixed ideas of what the outcome must look like.

April 3 - Archinect

Big-name and big-budget projects in New York are basking in the spotlight, but smaller, community-based projects are also flourishing in the Bronx.

April 2 - The Architect's Newspaper

Nicolai Ouroussof uses four cities--New Orleans, Los Angeles, The Bronx, and Buffalo--as case studies on how America's urban areas, long neglected, can once again be great.

April 2 - The New York Times