The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The students of Gallaudet University, one of the world's premier colleges for the deaf and hard of hearing, helped transform H Street into one of D.C.'s 'hippest neighborhoods'. Could the area's popularity extinguish an enclave of deaf culture?

July 16 - The Washington Post

BLOG POST

Alberta's floods and the tragic rail disaster in Quebec have lead to arguments for more stringent development controls in vulnerable areas and greater municipal control over railroads, as well as a more rapid transition away from oil.

July 16 - Michael Dudley

A recent book examines the causes and effects of the 'persistent and long standing problem of concentrated poverty in the inner city' and offers recommendations for breaking the cycle. Do we have the commitment to fix the problem?

July 16 - Rooflines

Inspired by the food truck movement, book-publisher Penguin Group (USA) has rolled out two new book-buying venues: the Penguin Book Truck, and the Penguin Book Pushcart.

July 16 - The Detroit News

After less than a year on the job, Vancouver's planning manager is under fire for controversial proposals. Do the recent misfires reflect poor messaging, tight budgets, and short timelines; or a more fundamental problem with the city's leaders?

July 16 - The Globe and Mail

The low-income housing and new-markets tax credits are two of the most effective tools for stimulating affordable housing creation and the revitalization of low-income neighborhoods. Don't let them fall victim to tax reform, argues Michael Rubinger.

July 16 - The New York Times

A rising chorus of architects, urban planners and developers are criticizing the suburban scale of development sweeping through downtown L.A. as a missed opportunity. They argue high-rises should be built instead of mid-rise apartment complexes.

July 16 - Los Angeles Downtown News

Art, architecture, and incarceration collide in essays on prison design from the Panopticon to the Golden Gulag.

July 16 - Places Journal

As many planners know, building next to transit doesn't guarantee a project will have the ridership boosting effects envisioned by proponents of such developments. A new tool seeks to provide an objective measurement of TOD effectiveness.

July 16 - the transport politic

FEATURE

The U.S. is in need of new approaches to managing stormwater. Though the EPA has been slow to provide guidance, there's plenty that can be done now. Parking reform provides a handy model for solving seemingly intractable entitlement problems.

July 15 - Lisa Nisenson

As plans to pedestrianize UK city centers gain steam, Lord Richard Rogers, architect of the Pompidou Centre and advisor on urbanism issues to successive London mayors, has predicted a widespread ban on cars in London within 20 years.

July 15 - The Times

Tight housing inventories, rising prices, and conservative mortgage lenders are preventing many would-be homeowners from buying their piece of the 'American Dream'. Michelle Higgins explains why this may actually be a good thing.

July 15 - The New York Times

At 76 miles, the tunnel China may soon start constructing beneath the Bohai Sea to connect the port cities of Dalian and Yantai would be longer than the world’s two longest underwater tunnels combined and cost $42.4 billion to complete.

July 15 - Quartz

Opponents to a proposal to eliminate parking minimums in certain areas of D.C. have been heard. In order to smooth approval of the city's massive zoning overhaul, planners will reduce minimums in some areas rather than eliminate them.

July 15 - The Washington Post

Thanks to mobile technology, Los Angelenos no longer have to choose between driving their own cars and paying expensive cab fares after a night out on the town.

July 15 - New York Times

In the current feature story from its 'Urbanist' magazine, the Bay Area planning think tank SPUR looks at 14 efforts to preserve the soul of San Francisco through the adaptive reuse, incorporation and juxtaposition of the city's historic buildings.

July 15 - SPUR Urbanist

Keith Laing, with help from Josh Schank of the Eno Center for Transportation, describes the reality facing the new Secretary of the Department of Transportation. With gas tax revenue dwindling and MAP-21 expiring next year, securing funds is crucial.

July 15 - The Hill

A new study published in the journal Environmental Pollution makes the first conclusive case for the ability of urban foliage to reduce fine particle pollution, reducing breathing problems and saving lives in the process.

July 15 - The Baltimore Sun

For the first time in more than five decades, Boston's Charles River has been deemed clean enough for a swim. The first approved community swim since the 1950s that was held on Saturday represents a milestone for the city's famous "dirty water".

July 15 - Boston.com

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's progressive transportation advocacy isn't limited to the five boroughs. From bike lanes in Turkey to auto-rickshaws in India, his philanthropy is funding transportation and road safety projects worldwide.

July 15 - The New York Times