The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Fear of "Hyperdensity" Grips Toronto's Leaders
Since it was passed in 2006, Toronto's growth has largely gone according to its Official Plan, with new development clustered in key areas of the city. But the city's chief planner and others fear some areas are in danger of becoming "hyperdense".
Replace the Gas Tax with a "Ton-Mile Fee"
As we inexorably approach the day the Highway Trust Fund goes broke, more policy experts offer creative alternatives to the per gallon gasoline tax. Michael Webber of the Energy Institute at UT Austin describes his option in a New York Times op-ed.
Toronto Asks Gehry to Go Back to Drawing Board
Toronto city council has rejected a proposal by developer David Mirvish and architect Frank Gehry to build three landmark condos – each more than 80 storeys - in Toronto’s core. Concerns include height, heritage loss, and density.
Declining Electricity Sales in a Growing Economy: Aberration or New Normal?
Electricity sales normally grow and fall with economic activity, but since 2011, that pattern has been turned on its head. The Washington Post offers four explanations for the change and how it threatens utilities' very existence.
A Lesson in Translating Archibabble
Much of the language used by globetrotting architects and academics to describe their projects and concepts is indecipherable to those not up to speed on biomorphology or french philosophy. BD offers a helpful guide for speaking architect.
Developers Bet that Micro Apartments Will Work in Smaller Cities
The relatively low cost of micro apartments in high rent cities such as N.Y. and San Francisco makes them a feasible alternative for singles, but will they attract millennials in smaller, lower-rent cities like Providence, Cleveland and Worcester?
Popular Federal Tool for Investing in Distressed Areas Again Under Threat
A year after it was rescued from elimination, the federal New Market Tax Credit program is again facing extinction. Congress must act before the end of the year to save the popular tool for subsidizing investment in underserved communities.
Christmas Funny: Snowmen Protest Global Warming
On this winter holiday, it's important to remind each other of the overlooked victims of global warming: the world's snowmen and snowwomen. Read this classic, but no less relevant, story from the satirical newspaper The Onion.
Where to Find the World's Largest Christmas Light Show
Australia probably isn't the first place that comes to mind when thinking of sleigh rides, reindeer, and winter wonderlands. But according to Guinness World Records, no place can beat one couple's Canberra home for holiday revelry.
Holiday Spirit Invades Paris Metro
During the holiday season, cities go to great lengths to turn their streets, homes and businesses into festive places. But underneath the streets, subways tend to look to same day in and day out. French artists have brought the holidays underground.
Colombia's Carbon Neutral Christmas Wonderland
Medellín's spectacular holiday lights display draws thousands of tourists to Colombia's second-largest city every year. Few visitors are likely to realize that the energy intensive displays are carbon neutral.
Icelandic "Elf Lobby" Tries to Halt Highway Project
Concerned that a proposed highway from the Alftanes peninsula to the Reykjavik suburbs will disturb Icelandic elf habitat, an elf lobbying group is joining forces with environmentalists to try to stop the project.
Possibly Coming to a City Near You: Bike Boxes, Bike Traffic Signals
Bike boxes and bike traffic signals can greatly assist cyclists in navigating through intersections where the majority of bike-motor vehicle collisions occur. A key advisory committee may recommend official acceptance, which would green-light them.
The Smart Home Has Arrived
Though smart cities and smart phones have tended to dominate professional discussions of late, the smart home has been a gleam in the eye of futurists for decades. Experts predict home automation will accelerate over the next few years.
Public Art on the Cheap: Providence's Custom Metal Trashcans
In Providence, Rhode Island, local craftsmen are turning trashcans into art. The metal bins are custom-worked with designs celebrating local businesses and more general themes.
Lawsuit Aims to Chop Down Proposed Minneapolis Park
A park planned to accompany Minneapolis' new football stadium has raised controversy because of the amount of proposed subsidies. While the details are worked out, planners consider the elements that will ensure its success.
BLOG POST
An Urbanist's 12 Days of Christmas!
As we get ready to celebrate Christmas, let's remember all the "gifts" that our cities give us. Our cities deserve a Christmas Carol! Here is an Urbanist's "12 Days of Christmas."
Should New York Better Police Its Skyline?
As a Billionaires' Row of sky-high residences rises along 57th Street, towering above Central Park, Michael Kimmelman wonders if it's time to tame the "leggy, cloud-piercing, sliver-thin residential towers".
BLOG POST
How Important is Your Graduate Planning Specialty or Concentration?
As students plan their spring semester courses and make early plans for the summer, they often wonder how to choose a planning specialization or concentration. They ask how important the concentration is for their future career as a planner.
Is Suburban Exploitation to Blame for Camden's Decline?
Are failing cities like Camden, New Jersey, to blame for their own downfall? Or are they the victims of a regional exploitation in which the suburbs foist their problems onto the nearest urban center?
Municipality of Princeton
Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
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