The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>Officials in Melbourne, Australia, are so frustrated with the city's lackluster planning process that they are pushing for the creation of a new planning authority -- one they hope will look at the "big picture".</p>

May 6 - The Age

<p>New York City has been expanding its stock of bicycle lanes throughout town, but as many cyclists are finding, the lanes that are supposed to be dedicated to bikes only are often overtaken by parked cars.</p>

May 6 - The New York Times

<p>The agreement trades a massive open space donation and other terms for clearance to conduct exploratory drilling off the coast.</p>

May 6 - The Planning Report

<p>Despite naysayers, Masdar City is moving forward. The goal: to be the world's first modern-day carbon-free city.</p>

May 6 - National Public Radio

<p>This commentary argues that, though it may not be called "zoning", Houston has plenty of land use restrictions and guidelines.</p>

May 6 - The Houston Chronicle

<p>In this opinion piece, Roger Snoble of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority discusses why the region's mobility would benefit from toll lanes on highways.</p>

May 6 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>This article from <em>The Washington Post</em> looks at what local municipalities are doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.</p>

May 6 - The Washington Post

<p>In this interview from last year, the now newly-elected mayor of London, Boris Johnson, talks about the importance of biking in the city, improving public transportation, and abolishing the city's congestion pricing system.</p>

May 6 - Streetsblog

<p>A year after a tornado destroyed the city of Greensburg, Kansas, the city and its residents are bounding back in an economically and environmentally sustainable way.</p>

May 6 - NPR

<p>The Transit Coalition's Bart Reed and USC planning Professor Peter Gordon debate transit and traffic in L.A. in this five-part point-counterpoint series.</p>

May 6 - The Los Angeles Times

BLOG POST

<p> On the bus this morning I was handed a survey asking me to detail my satisfaction with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority&#39;s public transit system. As a daily bus commuter, I was more than happy to spend my two cents, but I&#39;m a bit skeptical that those two cents will really do anything.

May 5 - Nate Berg

<p>Small car sales, especially hybrids and subcompacts, are jumping while pickups and SUV sales plummet, contributing to a reduction in gas consumption. The $3.50 gallon mark may have been key to influencing vehicle selection as well as driver behavior.</p>

May 5 - The New York Times

<p>In the mid-1980s New Zealand sold its national rail assets to private industry in hopes of developing a profitable, efficient rail network. With deteriorating infrastructure and a desire for greener transit, the government has decided to buy it back.</p>

May 5 - The New Zealand Herald

<p>Suburban Salt Lake cities are squabbling over who should host a possible station for the area's new commuter rail system. The city seen as the best choice doesn't want a station, while another city is doing all it can to lure the system.</p>

May 5 - The Salt Lake Tribune

<p>High rates of obesity and diabetes are being correlated to high concentrations of fast food restaurants in neighborhoods. Some look to zoning as a solution.</p>

May 5 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>Two new classifications of land in Denver -- areas of change and areas of stability -- are moving the city's redevelopment and densification plans forward.</p>

May 5 - The Rocky Mountain News

<p>According to RPA Executive Director Robert Yaro, global competition requires that the United States focus on regions for future infrastructure investment.</p>

May 5 - The Planning Report

BLOG POST

Once every few semesters, I teach a seminar on &quot;Sprawl and the Law.&quot; On the first day of the seminar, I ask students what &quot;sprawl&quot; is. After getting a variety of answers, I reveal the truth: most definitions of sprawl involve one of two separate definitions: <p> &quot;<strong>Where we grow</strong>&quot;- Sprawl as movement from the core to the fringe of a region. </p> <p> &quot;<strong>How we grow</strong>&quot;- Sprawl as development oriented towards drivers as opposed to nondrivers. </p>

May 5 - Michael Lewyn

<p>Students at Bridgewater-Raritan High School in New Jersey are protesting after the principal refused to accept a new bike rack as a gift from the school's environmental club.</p>

May 5 - Streetsblog

<p>The bursting of the housing bubble may be tied to rising gas prices, according to one economist.</p>

May 5 - The Oregonian