The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A new study has shown that city dwellers are less of a burden on the environment than those outside of city and metropolitan areas.

March 27 - New Scientist

Eric A. Morris takes a look at pedestrian-oriented cities with an economist's eyes.

March 27 - Freakonomics - NY Times Blog

More homeless people are squatting in abandoned suburban housing. Eduardo M. Peñalver, co-author of the forthcoming book "Property Outlaws" thinks cities should acquire these properties and allow the former owners to live in them as renters.

March 27 - Slate.com

A public-private partnership that would have built a new 10-lane bridge in British Columbia has fallen apart, leaving the $3.1 billion tab on the BC government. Researchers say that much money could build a 200-km light rail system instead.

March 27 - The Tyee

A bill heading for an expected signature on the President's desk will effectively protect 2 million acres of wilderness in the U.S. Conservationists are applauding the move, while others worry the bill will hold back alternative energy plans.

March 27 - The Christian Science Monitor

Possibly coming soon to freshwater-poor Dubai is a self-sustaining vertical farm that uses seawater for irrigation, cooling, and humidifying.

March 27 - Gizmag

The ecological impact of solar power plants is fueling a huge debate in the small rural town of Carissa Plains in California's coastal San Luis Obispo County, where the world's largest solar plants are being planned.

March 27 - Time

The economic crisis is leading to a surge in homelessness and the growth of tent cities in many U.S. cities.

March 26 - New York Times

BikePortland.com editor Jonathan Maus interviews Rep. Wayne Krieger about his legislation requiring cyclists to register their bicycles.

March 26 - BikePortland.org

California wants solar and wind power, but just where it goes is rife with controversy. Senator Dianne Feinstein is coming out against plans to build huge solar and wind farms in sensitive desert areas.

March 26 - Los Angeles Times

California's Inland Empire's status as one of the nation's leader in foreclosures has fleeing retail as proof of it. This article offers a glimpse in this "land of extremes."

March 26 - The New York Times

Matt Fikse calls attention to a Seattle transit plan, which has few drawbacks but has been left to die by officials. Why the streetcar beat out the Rapid Trolley Network.

March 26 - Crosscut

New stations for the Fairmount rail line in Boston has made its surrounding neighborhoods targets for redevelopment by community organizations, which may rebuild up to a dozen properties.

March 26 - The Boston Globe

The site of the Chicago Spire, now an undeveloped eyesore, may soon see progress, as its developer and AFL-CIO negotiate for funding.

March 26 - Chicago Tribune

An ambitious HUD program promoting homeownership in troubled neighborhoods is, by some accounts, "one of the more intelligent things HUD has done in its history."

March 26 - The Christian Science Monitor

While the number of private sector jobs shrinks, places with higher proportions of government workers are doing quite well. It's estimated that public servants will see wage increases of 2% or more this year.

March 26 - Newsweek

San Francisco is looking to follow New York City's lead as it moves forward with plans to convert a portion of street into a pedestrian plaza.

March 26 - Streetsblog SF

BLOG POST

<p> Worldwide media coverage earlier this week of Tata Motors unveiling their Nano car-for-the-masses brings the argument over individual car ownership to the forefront yet again.  Thanks to one hundred or so years of clever marketing, our society glorifies the bling of a shiny new car, demands auto ownership as a basic right, and proclaims its necessity to be (almost) as critical as water, food, and shelter. 

March 25 - Ian Sacs

According to Kazys Varnelis, architects should spend less time worrying about the little funding that the stimulus allots to highways and rail, and spending more time focusing on new technologies that supplement typical infrastructure.

March 25 - The Architect's Newspaper

College towns fare relatively well during a recession due to the stable, highly skilled work force colleges offer their communities.

March 25 - The Wall Street Journal