The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

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

BLOG POST

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

Mayor Bill de Blasio has selected Carl Weisbrod, the co-chairman of his transition team and a veteran New York City real estate executive to be the Chair of the City Planning Commission, aka Planning Director. Housing affordablity will be a priority.

February 10 - The New York Times N.Y. / Region

BLOG POST

To be pedantic, or to participate, is the question.

February 9 - James Brasuell

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to take the grey wolf off the Endangered Species list across most of the continental U.S. but a key panel determined their decision was based on questionable science that dealt with species identification.

February 9 - LiveScience

Weren't able to make it to this year's UCLA Extension Land Use Law & Planning Conference? No Problem! Los Angeles County Planner Dr. Clement Lau gives a quick recap . . . but mostly on the planning side of the program.

February 9 - UrbDeZine.com

Planners in the city of San Francisco have a proposed a $1.4 million study to examine the possibility of removing part of Interstate 280 in the city and convert a rail yard would yield 37 acres of prime urban real estate.

February 9 - SF Gate

The first step to solving the transit “desert” problem is identifying where those deserts are. But that’s easier said than done.

February 9 - Atlantic Cities

Parisian mayoral candidate Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet's proposal for the city’s abandoned train stations can be safely described as awesome. The designs are still a dream, but the city of lights is a good place for creative activity.

February 8 - Atlantic Cities

The coal ash spill, 82,000 tons as of Feb. 8 after being detected on Feb. 2, comes from a pond adjacent to a closed, coal-burning Duke Energy power plant. It is said not to pose a threat to drinking water, though the river has turned black and grey.

February 8 - The Wall Street Journal - U.S.

What, exactly, makes a neighborhood walkable? A new study published in the science journal PLOS-ONE begins to answer that question.

February 8 - Streetsblog USA