The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Brisbane

A Call for Housing in Bay Area Suburb

Bay area town Brisbane looks to provide commercial development to cater to San Francisco residents, but resists building housing.

October 1 - San Francisco Chronicle

Transit Ridership

New York Adding Transit Jobs at Rapid Rate

Even as other middle class jobs disappear, the transportation sector continues to grow.

October 1 - Next City

Drive Thru

Are Drive-Thru Stores Appropriate For Walkable Neighborhoods?

Anthony Morando of New York's Cuddy & Feder LLP offers an opinion that drive-thru uses like fast food stores and pharmacies can co-exist in walkable communities. Examples given of drive-thru stores that have been designed to be contextually sensitive

September 30 - Modern Cities

Google Headquarters

Is the Company Town Back? Sort Of.

Unlike the earlier iteration, today's full-amenity tech campuses provide their well-paid engineers with Millennial-friendly upper middle class comforts. But is that enough?

September 30 - Architecture Boston

Flint

$170 Million for Flint Water Pipes a Step Closer to Congressional Funding

An amendment to the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) that would provide $170 million to replace contaminated water pipes is headed to the 11th hour of the Congressional session.

September 30 - Detroit Free Press


Cars

White House Announces New Wave of 'Smart Cities Initiative' Funding

The Obama Administration is offering another $80 million in funding to test new transportation technologies.

September 30 - Next City

Ferry Building San Francisco

San Francisco Ellis Act Restrictions Struck Down

An attempt to protect San Francisco tenants from some no-fault evictions was overturned in court.

September 30 - San Francisco Chronicle


Hawaii

Hawaii to Embark on Nation's Largest Mileage Fee Demonstration Program

Unlike the more limited Oregon and California road usage charge programs currently in operation, Hawaii's program envisions over one million motorists participating in the demonstration program.

September 30 - AASHTO Journal

Planning for a Microgrid: Santa Monica Reclaims Industrial Space for Renewable Energy

Cities throughout California, including Santa Monica, have been awarded research and development funding through the California Energy Commission to plan community-scale microgrid solutions.

September 30 - The Planning Report

New York Street

How Far Can You Take Complete Streets?

8th Avenue was one of New York’s first "complete streets." Coined in 2003, the term refers to including cars, pedestrians, bikers, and public transit into city thoroughfares instead of prioritizing cars. Today, the trend is growing to other cities.

September 30 - Doggerel

Old Man Cyclist

Friday Funny: Some Cyclists Hand Signal Better Than Others

The satirical website The Onion once again casts its gaze on the habits of cyclists.

September 30 - The Onion

Washington D.C. - The White House

Planetizen Week in Review: September 30, 2016

Welcome, President Obama, to the NIMBY wars.

September 30 - Planetizen

Terrifying Train Crash at Hoboken Terminal on Thursday Leaves One Dead

Disaster struck New Jersey Transit commuters at 8:38 AM on Sept. 29 when train #1614 failed to stop at the end ot the track and slammed into the wall, then the ceiling of the historic station, killing at least one person and injuring up to 100.

September 29 - CNBC

Mural Los Angeles

Why New Affordable Housing Draws the Short Straw in Los Angeles

Cecilia Estolano, former Executive Director of Los Angeles’s Community Redevelopment Agency, diagnoses why the region has been unable to provide housing for working-class citizens.

September 29 - The Planning Report

Home For Sale Signs

A Case Against Homeownership

Against all odds, both political parties agree on at least one thing: the merits of homeownership. But is buying a home really such a great investment, even for the well-off?

September 29 - Market Urbanism

Chapel Hill Launches Open Data Platform: Now What?

Now that Chapel Hill has joined the ranks of cities around the country in launching on online platform to share its data, it's up to citizens to make the most of the opportunity.

September 29 - Daily Tarheel

I-5 Widening

Critiquing the $1.9 Billion Project to Widen I-5 in Los Angeles County

Streetsblog slams Caltrans for wasting $1.9 billion on futile freeway widening projects.

September 29 - LA.Streetsblog

Atlanta BeltLine

Leadership Shakeup at the Atlanta BeltLine

All is not well at the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, after two prominent board members, including Ryan Gravel, who originally proposed the idea for the BeltLine, resigned this week.

September 29 - SaportaReport

The gentrifying street-scape of the South Park neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles, California

Downtown L.A.'s Chinese Real Estate Cycle

Chinese developers are pouring money into high-rise housing projects in Los Angeles. But will these be pieds-a-terre for absent buyers? And how are developers dealing with the American regulatory environment?

September 29 - Los Angeles Times

Mexico Border

Tale of Two Cities: A U.S.-Mexico Bike Trail

Election rhetoric aside, towns on the U.S.-Mexico border share common urban challenges. A proposal is in the works to connect Brownsville, Texas and the Mexican city of Matamoros via bike path.

September 29 - CityLab

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