The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

An MIT study finds 200,000 early deaths per year in U.S. are attributed to air pollution. The biggest source is vehicle tailpipes at 53,000. Most impacted state: California; most impacted city: Baltimore.

September 3 - MIT News

In many exurban locations, planners and developers are often enticed by the idea of building urban environments, but without the necessary markets to support them, argues a real estate consultant.

September 3 - Baltimore Business Journal

Architect and planner Gerhard W. Mayer asserts that a city developed to accommodate cars is no place for paltry public transit offerings; Los Angeles needs major changes to its DNA if it wants to remain viable.

September 3 - The Architect's Newspaper

What do Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Intuit and many other tech companies in have in common? Their locations next o the San Francisco Bay could be underwater within 50 years as sea levels rise. The latest idea is a "Golden Gate Barrage".

September 3 - Xconomy

Electric Bike Share! The new program is set to launch in famously hilly San Francisco and across the bay in Berkeley next spring. Unlike the region's bike share which just launched August 29, it will be administered by the non-profit City Car Share.

September 3 - The Daily Californian

In the eight years since Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf Coast states have made great strides in adopting new visions for their cities and towns. A new report outlines the recovery's progress, pointing to successes in housing and transportation.

September 3 - The Sun Herald

Kenneth T. Jackson of the New York Times expresses his opposition to recent density concerns in New York City, which he believes are compromising its future as the world’s greatest city.

September 3 - The New York Times

Patrick Morrissy discusses his experience with HANDS, a small-scale community development corporation that's made a big impact in Orange, N.J. CDCs can stay relevant, he says, not if they go to scale, but if they take risks in a leadership role.

September 2 - Shelterforce

According to Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, 1.7 billion pounds of toxic cigarette butts are casually discarded each year around the world, fouling city streets and natural environments. Illinois has decided to do something about the scourge.

September 2 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Sacramento reporter John Myers suggests that if the oil industry and the Sierra Club both oppose a fracking bill - one for going too far; the other for not going far enough - then state Senator Fran Pavley's bill, "must be doing something right".

September 2 - News 10/KXTV Sacramento

Ever wish your nearby park could follow you throughout the city, providing open space wherever you might be? An artist and landscape architect have created Parkcycle Swarm, a modular system of 'human powered mobile gardens'.

September 2 - THE DIRT

Federal requirements often aren't enough incentive for municipalities to create accessible playgrounds, so parent advocates are paving the way for kids with special needs to access playgrounds.

September 2 - NPR

BLOG POST

Advocating safety for the successful electric replacement of internal combustion engine cars solves many of the challenges of an automobile-inclusive future urbanity, and there will be no other kind.

September 1 - Ian Sacs

The Economist's Intelligence Unit has once again ranked Melbourne as the top city in its annual Global Liveability Ranking. Damascus has dropped to the bottom of the list due to Syria's ongoing civil war.

September 1 - The Economist

Nissan has become the first car company to commit to a date for selling self-driving cars in an announcement this week. And it won't just be one model for sale by 2020, Nissan will produce "multiple 'commercially viable' self-driving vehicles."

September 1 - USA Today

George Skelton, capitol journalist for the LA Times, argues for compromise on Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg's SB 731 that weaves a tight line between labor & environmentalists vowing to uphold CEQA and businesses demanding reform.

September 1 - Los Angeles Times

A Donald Shoup devotee offers new insight into the problems and solutions associated with parking in Los Angeles and other cities. Urban Planning professor Richard Willson says it'll cost you, but parking systems are going to get more efficient.

September 1 - The Eastsider LA

With an election looming, the fate of one of Sydney's landmarks rests with voters as current Prime MInister Kevin Rudd suggests selling Garden Island should he be re-elected. Stephen Nicholls and Antony Lawes consider the site's future.

September 1 - Sydney Morning Herald

While Tongva Park's design may not be as bold as what James Corner has demonstrated on other projects or initially envisioned here, we should celebrate its planning, execution, and political sophistication, says Christopher Hawthorne.

August 31 - Los Angeles Times

Ever since a tentative deal for a new sports arena was struck between the City of Sacramento and new owners of the Sacramento Kings, real estate activity around the proposed downtown location has increased including deals for long empty storefronts.

August 31 - The Sacramento Bee