The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Community gardens and small-scale farms could soon start sprouting in California's cities thanks to a new law that allows municipalities to lower property taxes on small plots of land in exchange for at least five years of agricultural use.

October 6 - Los Angeles Times

Based on lessons from recent disasters in Chicago and New York, where lively urban spaces helped communities to survive and recover, Michael Kimmelman suggests that neighborhood libraries could be designed with such a purpose in mind.

October 6 - The New York Times

As cost estimates for California's high-speed rail system have risen, public support for the project has dropped. But desire for the project's predicted benefits remains strong.

October 6 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

A partnership between the NYC Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) and OpenStreetMap is a promising example of the public sector and tech communities working together to improve the accuracy and usability of data sets.

October 6 - MapBox

Owen Hatherley looks to the approach to public housing pioneered in the London boroughs of Islington and Camden in the 1960's and 70's for a solution to the capital's extreme gentrification.

October 6 - The Guardian

As L.A.'s iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall celebrates its tenth anniversary, Sam Lubell ponders how its shimmering stainless steel skin reflects the city's approach to architecture and urban design.

October 5 - The Architect's Newspaper

Andy Singer is an alternative transportation advocate that uses cartoons, rather than written diatribes or combative slideshows, to argue against America's auto-oriented environments and policies.

October 5 - The Atlantic Cities

Three groups review the final bill (also known as Kings Arena bill) that reformed California's landmark, but controversial 1970 environmental law known as CEQA: CA Economic Summit, NRDC and Climate Plan. All credit the author, Sen. Darrell Steinberg.

October 5 - NRDC Switchboard

Though his "Tale of Two Cities" was the centerpiece of Bill de Blasio's mayoral campaign, details on how the candidate plans to narrow New York City's rising inequality have been scarce. With a speech on Friday, he sought to fill in the gaps.

October 5 - The New York Times

To celebrate National Community Planning Month, the American Planning Association (APA) has revealed its seventh annual list of the country's 10 great neighborhoods, 10 great streets, and 10 great public spaces.

October 5 - APA

FEATURE

Urban agriculture is a promising solution to a variety of ills afflicting our increasingly urbanizing planet. Milton Keynes, Britain's largest New Town of the 20th Century, is forging a path towards food sovereignty by growing its urban farms.

October 4 - Christina Sgro

Who needs four years of costly undergraduate education in History (sorry Mom & Dad) when you can just consult John B. Sparks' "Histomap" of 1931. Writing in Slate's "The Vault" blog, Rebecca Onion looks at the 5-foot-long guide to world history.

October 4 - Slate

For good reason, Coca-Cola is better known for supplying the world with high-calorie sugary drinks than empowering residents of poor countries. By partnering with Qualcomm Technologies to produce the "EKOCENTER" kiosk, that may soon change.

October 4 - The New York Times

What if the great adventurer and geographer John Wesley Powell had his way: That as the western states were brought into the union their shape would be dictated by watershed rather than political boundary? This blog - and map - depict this scenario.

October 4 - Community Builders

New York City's 5.3 million square feet of “leftover” street space provides a prime opportunity to create public amenities and a more resilient city. Eric Tan and his colleagues at Gensler have created modular "Street Squares" to fill the void.

October 4 - Fast Company Co.Exist

No architectural style arouses more hostility than brutalism. Its monolithic concrete buildings are unloved features of cities around the world. Is it time to reappraise this maligned style? Here are 20 buildings that don't deserve your barbs.

October 4 - Future Cities

A new study by TRIP, the Washington, D.C.-based transportation nonprofit, has concluded that drivers in the Los Angeles region ply the most deteriorated roads in the country, based on 2011 data from the Federal Highway Administration.

October 4 - Los Angeles Times

Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada, who helped develop the world's most popular hybrid-electric vehicle, questioned the ability of pure electric vehicles to supplant petroleum-fueled vehicles because of battery and charging challenges.

October 4 - The Washington Post

With extreme weather on the rise across the United States, a recent competition asked architects to design the resilient home of the future. The winners offer an impressive "balance between resiliency and livability," writes Emily Badger.

October 4 - The Atlantic Cities

Toronto’s 2013 Vital Signs Report cautions that while Canada’s largest city has a lot going for it, growing income disparity, high youth unemployment, and housing un-affordability threaten its future as one of the world’s most livable cities.

October 4 - The Toronto Star