The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Jersey City Bikeshare Launches; Hoboken's System on the Way

The New York Times recognizes the signs of urban biking's renaissance in the launch of bikeshare systems in New Jersey cities.

September 24 - The New York Times

Calling for the Removal of Houston's Pierce Elevated Freeway

Houston's Pierce Elevated, a section of the I-45 freeway, is the latest target in the movement to remove urban freeways.

September 24 - The Urban Edge

Brooklyn Bridge

Attention Media: Neighborhoods Existed Before Gentrification

On the media's responsibility for narratives that enable displacement, rather than inclusion.

September 24 - Grist

German Cities Rewrite Building Codes to Provide Homes for Refugees

Germany has reformed building codes in a marshaling of political will known as the "Culture of Welcome" for an expected one million refugees. German cities, many of them shrinking for decades, see the refugees as an opportunity and a responsibility.

September 24 - The Globe and Mail

Seaside Entrance

Thoughts on Seaside at 35

Seaside, Florida: what’s possible when vision, tradition, creativity, adaptation, and, yes, time converge in ways that allow for careful study and consideration.

September 24 - PlaceShakers


Community Improvement District Considered to Fund Atlanta Beltline Improvements

Stakeholders are considering the implementation of a Community Improvement District along the Atlanta Beltline to help pay for ongoing maintenance and other improvements to the ongoing project of building this singular public facility.

September 23 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

'Beyond the 710' Seeks Multimodal Alternatives to Filling Freeway Gap

A coalition in Los Angeles County wants to reframe the debate about closing the gap in the 710 Freeway, asking Metro to look "beyond the 710"—and toward a multi-pronged, multimodal approach to transportation problems in the region.

September 23 - The Planning Report


Proactive Approach to Displacement Included With 11th Street Bridge Park Plans

A proposal to design a park at the 11th Street Bridge between Capitol Hill and Historic Anacostia includes a through study of how the new park can connect two neighborhoods without leaving anyone behind.

September 23 - Greater Greater Washington

Volkswagen Caught Cheating on Emissions Testing

A toxic revelation about the use of software to cheat emissions testing, found in 11 million Volkswagen vehicles, has taken down the company's CEO and could cost the company around $7.3 billion.

September 23 - The New York Times

LA Crime Scene

Still Gritty: Crime Wave in Downtown Los Angeles

As people and jobs stream into the district, downtown's long-simmering problems butt up against vigorous urban renewal. Crime is up, but so are property values.

September 23 - Los Angeles Times

Massachusetts Could Be Next State to Adopt a Road Usage Charge

In the wake of voter rejection of automatic indexing of the state gas tax, Massachusetts legislators may do away with the tax altogether. They are considering a trial of the Oregon model of road usage charge.

September 23 - Eagle-Tribune

6th Street Viaduct

Book Review: 'The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies: Lessons From S.F. and L.A.'

Reviewer Jon Christensen suggests that an alternative title to this book on urban economic development by four UCLA researchers could be the much simpler, and probably more attention-grabbing, "How San Francisco Beat L.A. — for Now Anyway."

September 23 - SF Gate

Build It and They Will Come: Big Expansion Expected for Houston Bikeshare

Critical funding from the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Transportation Policy Council will expand the size of Houston's B-Cycle bikeshare system. The investment is intended to attract more users.

September 23 - Houston Chronicle

The Outsized Benefits of Transforming Parking Lots to TOD

Chicago's sale of three city-owned parking lots demonstrates how selling underused land for the purposes of transit-oriented development can benefit people and government.

September 23 - Metropolitan Planning Council - The Connector

Nashville Neighborhood Conducts Car-Free Experiment

A neighborhood in West Nashville is in the midst of a "Don't Car Campaign," concluding on September 25, to determine just how walkable and transit-friendly their homes can be.

September 23 - Nashville Business Journal

Shepard Fairey

Street Artist Shepard Fairey Tackles Detroit

After billionaire landlord Dan Gilbert commissioned a mural, less-legal works in Fairey's style began showing up around the city. Detroit's case against the artist brings gentrification's ironies into focus.

September 22 - CityLab

Amsterdam Electric Car

Electric Vehicles: When Too Much of a Good Thing Is Bad

Environmental sustainability on a national level is proving to be financially unsustainable on a local level for an island community in Norway that is counting on $20 tolls, with an electrical vehicle exemption, to pay off a $70 million tunnel.

September 22 - The Wall Street Journal

High School Football

Op-Ed: Stop Attacking My Suburb!

A proud suburban resident defends her neighborhood from the criticisms of city-dwellers. It's not walkable, it's not perfect, but it's home.

September 22 - Star Tribune

Moving Forward in Ferguson with Better Transit

The Ferguson Commission report includes recommendations for combating racial inequity in the Saint Louis region with better-funded, more expansive transit access.

September 22 - Citizens for Modern Transit

Controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline Project Moves Forward

This week Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas submitted permits to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build a 550-mile natural gas pipeline across three mid-Atlantic states.

September 22 - WRAL

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