The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
With Vote by City Council, Sacramento to Become Healthier and More Bike Friendly
More bike corrals, bike sharing, and parklets are on the way to the Golden State's capital thanks to the city council's unanimous vote on Oct. 22 with support from cyclists, pedestrians, businesses, and the regional air district.
China Confronts Troubling By-Product of Urbanization: Mountains of Construction Rubble
China's rapid rebuilding effort has produced mountains of debris as old cities are replaced with gleaming new metropolises. Illegal dumping is coming under fire as it gets more and more difficult to conceal the evidence.
D.C. HOT Lanes Still Struggling to Attract Customers
A year after $2 billion high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes opened along the Capital Beltway in Northern Virginia, traffic volume remains below projections.
Is Downtown Denver Too Popular?
Some of Denver's leaders are sounding the alarm over rising household income levels and the threat to affordable housing. But in an editorial in The Denver Post, Vincent Carroll argues that an exclusive downtown Denver is better than the alternative.
A Year Later, Sandy Recovery Shows That Building Resilience Takes Time
Despite warnings of the threats posed by rising seas and more extreme storms in the years leading up to Hurricane Sandy, the New York region's preparations lagged behind where experts thought they should be. Has anything changed since Sandy?
Supreme Court Will Hear Rail-Trails Case
A dispute over ownership of a strip of abandoned Pacific Railroad Company line in Wyoming will test the legal underpinnings of thousands of miles of rail-trails throughout the Unites States.
What's in the Water? House Overwhelmingly Approves Infrastructure Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives has nearly unanimously passed a new bill! While that's news in itself, the bill facilitates infrastructure improvements (water-oriented in this case), an often divisive issue.
FEATURE
Why Do Certain Retail Stores Cluster Together?
Ever notice how competitors like Target and Walmart tend to cluster together? Ken Steif has, and through a close analysis of retail location trends in NY, NJ, and CT, he examines which businesses tend to agglomerate and why.
De Blasio Indicates He May Revisit Popular Times Square Pedestrianization
In a debate held on Tuesday, and in a subsequent radio interview, leading New York City mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio indicated he'd like to study whether to bring back automobiles to a stretch of Broadway that had been closed for pedestrians.
In Indiana, Highway Building Is an End in Itself
As the first segment of the new $2-3 billion freeway called I-69 linking Evansville and Indianapolis nears completion, Southwest Indiana leaders are already agitating to build the state's next "massive boondoggle," writes Aaron Renn.
Were Vancouver's 2010 Olympics Worth the Investment?
A new report says the investments made in hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver were worth it. But could the area have gotten the same benefits without the Games?
Can Later Bar Hours and 'Noise Areas' Make a D.C. Suburb Hip?
As urban areas across the country compete for those coveted young professionals, "unhip" suburbs have a particularly tough challenge. In Montgomery County, MD, a taskforce has issued its recommendations for addressing this challenge.
Oil Boom Lays Waste to North Dakota's Air and Ground
A pair of articles in The New York Times look at two different kinds of waste generated from North Dakota's booming oil industry: natural gas from oil wells is burned due to the absence of pipelines, and the disposal of waste in landfills.
L.A.'s Sprawling Valley Undertakes a Pedestrian-Friendly Retrofit
The San Fernando Valley is infamous for its seemingly endless expanse of flat, gridded single-family sprawl. But to accommodate growth and improve the quality of life, the Valley's distinct neighborhoods are looking to create a sense of place.
How Cities Can Help Get the Kids to Daycare
Erin Anderssen takes a critical look at the role of our cities in the provision of much needed childcare. While municipally-delivered childcare has been successful in Scandinavia, some Canadian cities are left playing with alternative approaches.
Making Sure Bike Lanes Aren't Viewed as "White Lanes"
Bike infrastructure is often viewed with skepticism in minority neighborhoods across the U.S. Jay Walljasper looks at how to extend the benefits of biking to communities that often have fewer options for transportation and exercise.
LaHood Calls For 10-cent Gas Tax Increase with Indexing
Freed from the political constraints of holding a cabinet position, former Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood told a university audience that the increase is necessary to meet multi-modal infrastructure needs, not just road construction.
New Paper Makes the Case for Placemaking's Role in Building Community
With the publication of a new paper, PPS is celebrating "an important occasion in the evolution of the Placemaking movement." Through 10 case studies, the paper argues for "the importance of Placemaking as a vital part of community-building."
BLOG POST
How the U.S. Became a Unique "Nation of Homezoners”
Exceptionalism is a word often associated with the U.S., most often with foreign policy. Sonia Hirt of VPI argues that since its inception American zoning has also taken a unique form compared to European counterparts.
New Study Ties Distracted Driving to Increase in Pedestrian and Cyclist Deaths
Though vehicular deaths have been declining across the U.S., pedestrian and cyclist deaths have risen. While intuition might say our ubiquitous cell phones are to blame, hard data has been scarce. A new study seems to support this conclusion.
City of Clovis
City of Moorpark
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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