The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

In advance of next year's mayoral race, the Washington City Paper has reached out to local leaders for their suggestions for how to fix one of the city's intractable problems. See their 28 detailed, and 26 simple, solutions.

July 27 - Washington City Paper

A Chinese developer is interested in erecting an exact replica of one of architecture's most notable lost buildings on the site where it burned to the ground in 1936.

July 27 - The Guardian

President Obama used a tour of Jaxport to promote infrastructure investment, e.g. accommodating larger ships and intermodal cargo transfer to trains to stimulate the economy and increase employment, and maybe convert some Republicans to the cause.

July 27 - The New York Times - Politics

Buzzfeed has posted a stunning video clip of the mad scramble to exit and board a train along Beijing's subway line #13 during the morning commute at Xierqi station. Calling it "rush hour" simply doesn't do this justice.

July 26 - BuzzFeed

We've found this week's ultimate time-waster! Slate has developed a map quiz that asks participants to guess which city is being depicted based solely on the geography of its Starbucks locations.

July 26 - Slate

The mass ride through city streets was originally intended to increase the visibility of bicyclists. Though it still attracts participants, as bicycling has been embraced as a mainstream mode, Critical Mass has lost its relevance, says Joe Eskenazi.

July 26 - SF Weekly

Charles Montgomery discusses the findings of a fascinating study on the responses of residents and visitors to different environments in New York, Berlin and Mumbai. The results hint at the impact of experience and memory on how we perceive a place.

July 26 - happycity/lab

Reconecting America has assembled its Transit Space Race guide for 2013, a handy interactive map and spreadsheet of the 721 fixed guideway projects being planned or built across the U.S. The projects represent more than $250 billion in investments.

July 26 - Reconnecting America

According to SF State University geographer, Jason Henderson, the adoption of Plan Bay Area by MTC and ABAG last Thursday was a "watershed moment in regional planning", but it also was a missed opportunity to improve transit to capture more trips.

July 26 - San Francisco Bay Guardian

With five routes already in operation, New York City leaders are getting the taste for bus rapid transit. This week, one city council member introduced a bill that would require the city to develop a plan for a citywide BRT network.

July 26 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

A recent fight over school-bus service in Loudoun County, Virginia highlights the ways in which suburban growth patterns hamper walkability and harm the health of children.

July 26 - NRDC Switchboard

As much as architects and critics may hate the term, "we are going to be stuck with 'starchitect' until everybody with a keyboard agrees to retire it," says Guy Horton. So how can architects - star or not - make the term work for them?

July 26 - ArchDaily

For a century, energy companies have been digging up Louisiana's coast for exploration and pipelines. A state board that oversees flood-protection has now sued them for destroying the coastal wetlands that stood as a natural buffer against flooding.

July 26 - The New York Times

BLOG POST

Buried beneath the enthusiasm that’s accompanied the unveiling of Peter Zumthor’s design for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is one important criteria by which the project should be evaluated: how does it contribute to the urban environment?

July 25 - Jonathan Nettler

The long quest to transform Penn Station got a major boost yesterday when the New York City Council voted to renew Madison Square Garden's lease for just 10 years. The Garden's owners had sought an unlimited extension.

July 25 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

The unprecedented decline in Arctic sea ice could cause the catastrophic release of methane, imperiling the world's climate and economy, reports a new paper published in the journal Nature.

July 25 - The Guardian

As part of a study into potential changes to D.C.'s Height of Buildings Act requested by Congress, the results of an economic feasibility analysis were presented this week. Relaxing limits would create jobs and several thousand new housing units.

July 25 - The Washington Post

Michael Kimmelman comes out against the plan to rezone a 73-block area around Grand Central Terminal to allow the replacement of "aging commercial buildings with giant new office towers". The city should focus on planning, not zoning, he argues.

July 25 - The New York Times

79 people are confirmed to have died so far in Spain's most deadly train accident in 40 years. The accident involved an Alvia train traveling from Madrid to Ferrol that was said to be operating at more than twice the advised speed when it derailed.

July 25 - El Pais

Driven by student activism and less idealistic motivations for improving energy efficiency, college campuses across the Unites States are pioneering 'innovative approaches to rethinking energy infrastructure'.

July 25 - The Atlantic Cities