The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has becoming increasingly outspoken against the city's new density bonus, saying it goes against the will of residents and will contribute to the destruction of stable neighborhoods.</p>

April 14 - Los Angeles

<p>While most of the country is feeling the pain of the subprime mortgage crisis, these communities have managed to fly under the radar.</p>

April 14 - MainStreet.com

<p>A new report praises Ontario's greenbelt - 11 times the size of Toronto - as a model for urban growth control.</p>

April 14 - The Globe & Mail

<p>Instead of requiring developers to complete traffic studies for individual projects, one Northern California city has commissioned a comprehensive traffic study, and asked developers to help foot the bill.</p>

April 14 - San Mateo County Times

<p>The man largely responsible for planning modern day Vancouver has found his next challenge in the Middle Eastern capital of Abu Dhabi.</p>

April 14 - The Province

FEATURE

The current housing crisis in America is a product of greed -- not just the greed of homebuilders and mortgage lenders, but also the greed of consumers. Could planners have done more to prevent this greed from crashing the market?

April 14 - Sriram Khé, PhD

<p>California voters will soon vote on a $10 billion bond proposal that would fund a 220 mph bullet train running between L.A. and San Francisco.</p>

April 14 - The Christian Science Monitor

<p>Already praised for its efforts at encouraging residential density in its urban core, Vancouver's mayor is pushing for a new EcoDensity charter that would push for higher densities citywide. But even in Vancouver, residents are wary of more density.</p>

April 14 - Georgia Straight

FEATURE

Say you're a big city. But right next door is an even bigger big city. What do you do to stand out? Josh Stephens explores the unique plight of America's so-called stepsister cities.

April 14 - Josh Stephens

<p>One Philadelphia councilman wants his city to follow the lead of more pedestrian-friendly New York and ensure that construction projects don't interfere with sidewalks.</p>

April 13 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

<p>Mixed-use projects are all the rage, but often times, the ground floor retail storefronts remain empty long after residents have moved in.</p>

April 13 - Dallas Morning News

<p>Green roofs offer an opportunity for outdoor space and gardening for people with little or no yards.</p>

April 13 - The Hartford Courant

<p>As the site adds more transit systems to its database, some hope that Google's transit route planner could become as useful as its car route mapping software.</p>

April 13 - Wired Magazine

<p>Across the country, burst, leaking and corroding water mains are indications that much of the country's water infrastructure is reaching the end of its life expectancy. Repairs and replacements could cost hundreds of billions of dollars.</p>

April 13 - The New York Times

<p>Short on funding, Toronto's waterfront parks agency is considering a plan to sell the naming rights to the park's amenities, allowing corporate sponsors to add their name to such public features as walkways and play areas.</p>

April 12 - The Canadian Press

<p>With one of the world's higher rates of air pollution, Mexico City is cracking down on one type of emission: cigarette smoke. Smoking has been banned in all public places in the city, including office buildings and restaurants.</p>

April 12 - Reuters

<p>Old subway cars are being dumped off the coast of Delaware, creating a manmade reef. Life is flourishing in this new underwater subway cemetery, but officials worry the reef may be too successful.</p>

April 12 - The New York Times

<p>England's plans to build 3 million new homes by 2020, and much emphasis has been placed on making them environmentally friendly. The push for "eco-town" draw a strong parallel to the "Garden Cities" of the past.</p>

April 12 - The Times

<p>A New York developer is unveiling plans for a fleet of luxury homes that aim to comply with LEED environmental standards. But this article from <em>The New York Times</em> wonders whether that really makes the homes green.</p>

April 12 - The New York Times

<p>142 years after it was first proposed and with $235 million spent with nothing to show for it, the unrealized link between Sicily and the Italian mainland might be planning at its worst.</p>

April 11 - The Wall Street Journal