The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

BLOG POST

The world is changing, and so must we. Do we wait for external influences to force change, or can we lead our organizations to do better?

February 11 - Todd Litman

"Well-designed green schoolyards model the ecologically-rich cities we would like to inhabit. They do this at a smaller scale and teach the next generation how to live more lightly on the Earth—shaping places where urbanization and nature coexist."

February 11 - Children & Nature Network

The USA Today takes a closer look at data from the recent “Has Motorization in the U.S. Peaked?” report by Michael Sivak for the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

February 11 - USA Today

A newly released series of animated GIFs provides a powerful visualization of how paltry even the most robust transit systems in the world look to those with special needs.

February 11 - Mappable

To protect the character of city blocks, a Philadelphia councilwoman has proposed new restrictions on building heights on blocks with uniformly two-story buildings.

February 11 - PlanPhilly

Cities around the country are implementing alley improvement programs as a tool for neighborhood revitalization, with benefits to the economy and the environment. A recent article celebrates the strides cities have made in reclaiming alley spaces.

February 11 - Urbanophile

Reflecting a growing desire by seniors to live at home and stay in their lifelong neighborhoods, so-called ‘senior villages” are marshaling support and resource networks so seniors around the country can age in place.

February 11 - The Washington Post

One of the best ways to gain citizens' perspectives of their cities is to see what they see, and how they see it. Here are 30 photos sent in by people from global cities that capture that point of view.

February 11 - Future Cities

“At this point I’m battling gentrification fatigue,” proclaims Dax-Devlon Ross, who has written extensively about his experiences as a self-proclaimed “black gentrifier” in West Harlem.

February 11 - Next American City

The vote to approve restrictions on immigration passed narrowly with 50.3 percent of the vote. The main repercussion may be how it impacts trading with its neighbors in the EU as immigration quotas may invalidate a 1999 treaty allowing free movement.

February 11 - The New York Times

As Toronto's condo-boom continues, condo buyers and councillors alike are calling for developments to be designed with canines in mind. Developers are now looking to include amenities like “pet spas” and rooftop 'dog runs' in their developments.

February 11 - The Globe and Mail

The Inland Empire—suburban and exurban counties located to the east of Los Angeles—experienced some of the worst impacts of the housing crisis and recession. Yet, people still arrived there in droves during the recession.

February 10 - Los Angeles Times

The Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge opened to vehicle traffic over the weekend. The 1,500-foot cable-stayed span across the Mississippi River is touted as a traffic relief infrastructure.

February 10 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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It is probably fair to say that most people think urban landscapes are at their best in the warm months. They may be right. But after a recent tromp through a frigid Manhattan, I am reminded how great cities can be in winter.

February 10 - Mark Hough

By implementing a rational, structured policy of providing free apartments for the homeless, the state of Utah has greatly reduced its homeless population and is on pace to eradicate it completely by 2015.

February 10 - PolicyMic

A series of renderings asks the question: "What might it look like if tech campuses replaced their parking lots and provided all the necessary housing on-site?"

February 10 - First Cultural Industries

A new study shows evidence of dramatic positive impacts for the New Mexico MainStreet program, a state program working in coordination with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

February 10 - KRWG

Researchers are building a more complete archive of life in slums, home to one-third of the urban population of developing countries. A new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) rejects assumptions about the benefits of slums.

February 10 - The Economist

Back in 2009, Olympic officials were claiming that the Sochi Winter Games would be the "greenest" games ever. But besides a large carbon offset, the Olympics' sustainability efforts have been underwhelming.

February 10 - The Guardian

Propane prices in some parts of the midwest and south had tripled; governors have demanded investigations into price gouging, and shelters have opened for those unable to afford the steep prices increases, yet production increased 15% from last year.

February 10 - The New York Times