The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

New research provides sorely needed tools for illustrating the neighborhoods that suffer a lack of transportation options to access jobs and opportunity.

February 7 - Next City

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College have spent the last 18 months scouring the New York Subway in the search for a DNA profile of the system. They even created a map of the 15,152 microbes they found.

February 6 - Science Daily

A catastrophic event in Edgewater, New Jersey, in which a 408-unit apartment complex was gutted by fire, has inspired legislators to propose a moratorium on the materials and practices of "light frame construction."

February 6 - The Record

Under CEO Keith Parker, Atlanta's formerly desperate transit agency is picking up steam after suffering annual deficits of up to $33 million. The service area has expanded, the fleet is being modernized, and voters approved a new transit tax.

February 6 - CityLab

A new study by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation projects mobility patterns of 2045. With projected growth of 70 million people, the pressure is on to invest in infrastructure and bring transportation planning into the 21st century.

February 6 - The Washington Post

A neutral capital "district" may have sounded like a fine idea in the early 1800s. Today, Washington, D.C.—the burgeoning city, not the political fabrication—is crippled by the whims of Congress and a host of anti-urban policies.

February 6 - Next City

The three very different stories of the building trades in Atlanta, Denver, and Portland show just how much urban development patterns affect workers.

February 6 - Shelterforce

Ferries, New York City's first commuter mode, will return big-time if Mayor Bill de Blasio gets his way. Judging by how well the proposal in his February 3 State of the City address was received, he will.

February 6 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." -Heraclitus, as quoted by Plato in Cratylus.

February 6 - Vox

Movoto has produced a pair of rankings: "The 10 Nerdiest Cities in America" and "The 10 Nerdiest Small Cities in America." According to the lists, there must be something in the water in Georgia.

February 6 - Movoto Blog

For people who'd rather own a smart phone than a set of wheels, new types of mobile tech are making it increasingly easy to get around cities. A recent report ranks the metro areas that are making best use of these technologies. On top: Austin, TX

February 6 - Streetsblog USA

Seven incredibly useful market research tools for local governments.

February 5 - Civicly

Just as plummeting oil prices have caused state and federal political leaders to consider raising gas taxes, leaders in developing nations, both oil producers and consumers, are considering reductions in national energy subsidies.

February 5 - The New York Times

Wood burners are a common source of nostalgia—and particle emissions that wreak havoc on public health. To improve air quality and prevent asthma, heart attacks, and more, the EPA has passed its first rule change for wood burning heaters since 1988.

February 5 - The Hill

Recent attention from National Geographic justified fans of Oklahoma City ready to include the city among the world's best cities.

February 5 - The Journal Record (OK)

Amid the constant battle between Seattle and Portland, Seattle-based writer Eric Scigliano responds to an Oregonian article praising Seattle's transit system. Praise is all right, writes Scigliano, but the Oregonian missed a few lowlights.

February 5 - Crosscut

Even as innovations like ridesharing take hold in tech-friendly San Francisco, the percentage of trips taken by personal auto is stuck at just under 50 percent.

February 5 - Streetsblog SF

When two roads meet in William Penn's Forest, what do you do? New plans from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation say, increasingly, you build a roundabout. No fewer than forty are on the drawing board throughout the state.

February 5 - Philadelphia Magazine

An ambitious new transportation plan is yet another step in the transformation of South Boston from a gritty, blue-collar waterfront to one of the nation's most promising zones of innovation.

February 5 - Next City

In a post from the new Plan.Place blog, the author explores the city with a two-year-old as his guide and offers reflections on viewing the urban landscape anew--from an elevation of 34 inches and with a renewed sense of wonder.

February 5 - Plan.Place