The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Half a century of auto-oriented suburban development presents a massive challenge to planners hoping to create more sustainable and livable communities. In South Miami's Hometown district, Kaid Benfield finds a model for how to begin this transition.

December 9 - NRDC Switchboard

Concerned that a controversial "good neighbor rule" doesn't go far enough in keeping dirty air from wafting over the East Coast, governors of eight states are petitioning the EPA to enforce stricter pollution standards on their Midwestern neighbors.

December 9 - The New York Times

With the housing bust of the Great Recession fading in the rear-view mirror, a maturing Miami aspires to become one of the world's great cities. City leaders see the creation of a "Downtown Pedestrian Priority Zone" as the path to get them there.

December 9 - Miami Herald

New Hampshire will consider a Republican bill in 2014 to tie the gas tax to inflation, increasing it by about 4 cents next year should it pass. The Senate killed a House bill in May to increase the gas tax by 12 cents over 3 years.

December 9 - Concord Monitor

When California shuttered its hundreds of local redevelopment agencies, many believed a new (if smaller) system for funding affordable housing and development in blighted areas would soon follow. Two years later, the state is still waiting.

December 9 - California Planning & Development Report

A 2005 Federal Railroad Administration rule change that requires engineers to blare their horns at at-grade rail crossings is threatening the quality of life and economic future of communities across the Denver area.

December 9 - The Denver Post

Australian researchers are agog over the discovery of 120,000 cubic miles of freshwater beneath the ocean floor. The reserves may help quench the world's approaching freshwater crisis.

December 9 - The Huffington Post

Is it possible to predict when and how cities will grow? A group of researchers in France say the answer is yes.

December 9 - Next City

Off-the-chart smog levels recorded on Friday in China’s second largest city put its 30 million residents at risk and has authorities urging people to stay indoors.

December 9 - The Huffington Post

They might call it the "Lunch with the Critics" award, but in my mind they're the "Archies" (is that taken?). Critics Alexandra Lange and Mark Lamster deliver their fourth annual awards for the best and worst in architecture and design of 2013.

December 8 - Observatory

BLOG POST

As the president and co-founder of Friends of the High Line prepares to leave the park he helped to create, it is a good time to consider the legacy of what is now one of the most famous contemporary landscapes in the world.

December 8 - Mark Hough

A new report and interactive website from the Knight Foundation attempt to define (broadly) and measure the growing synthesis of technology and civic life.

December 8 - The Atlantic Cities

Jan Gehl argued at the Royal Institute of British Architects annual research symposium that architects and urban planners must do more research on how their schemes affect people.

December 8 - Future Cities

Already one of only two states to require criminal background checks of registered architects, the Texas legislature has gone one step further by requiring them to be fingerprinted. It's the first state in the country to embrace the practice.

December 8 - The Architect's Newspaper

I know, it's a bit early in the "Best of" season to get this specialized, but gosh darnit if these protected bike lanes aren't the cutest things. Chicago, Indianapolis, Austin, and the other winners: You've got a lot to celebrate.

December 8 - People for Bikes

This train is not steel wheels on steel rail - it is multiple two-wheeled rubber tires, commuting together, providing support and safety to novice cyclists, but sometimes it backfires. Interviewed is a frustrated motorist who intimidated them.

December 7 - NPR

Alison Prato speaks with architect Chris Downey, who lost his eyesight five years ago following surgery to remove a brain tumor, about how his approach to design and his experience of the city have changed.

December 7 - TED Blog

A pilot project hopes to pioneer a new type of investment by alleviating asthma among lower-income children. Project developers hope the Fresno Asthma Impact Model could become a national model for improving health and reducing costs.

December 7 - The Fresno Bee

A preliminary map of D.C. Metro's long-term expansion plans that was unveiled this week has riders salivating at the prospect of a station finally being built in Georgetown. A third line could serve Virginia.

December 7 - WAMU

After three years of operation, Melbourne's publicly subsidized bike share system is for sale. Though ridership has increased each year since opening, private investment is seen as crucial for expansion.

December 7 - The Age