The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Home For Sale Signs

Don't Count on a Millennial to Buy Your Suburban Home

James Briggs speaks for his Millennial generation cohorts when he outlines the many reasons why unloading that suburban home on young buyers will be a hard sell.

June 25 - Baltimore Business Journal

BLOG POST

In Praise of Failure

Failures, when experienced as part of creatively contributing to the solution, are not just OK, they are a good thing.

June 25 - Ian Sacs

Can New York's Most Suburban Borough Develop a Real Downtown?

Laura Kusisto looks at plans set to be unveiled this week for revitalizing Staten Island's north shore neighborhoods - one of the Bloomberg administration's top priorities in its waning days.

June 25 - The Wall Street Journal

The 8 Most Promising Ideas in Open Gov

This week, the Knight Foundation announced the eight recipients (out of 886 applicants) to share in $3.2 million in grant funds intended to promote the use of public data "to improve the way people and governments interact."

June 25 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Divergent Views on the State of America's Cities; Can They Both Be Right?

Kaid Benfield discusses two influential new publications that posit very different takes on the state of America's cities. While he finds elements to agree with in both, Benfield ultimately finds himself an optimist when it comes to our urban future.

June 25 - NRDC Switchboard Blog


Westward Ho! Philly Fulfills its Manifest Destiny

With seven high-rise housing projects planned for the area between the western edge of Center City and the University City Science Center, Philadelphia's development axis is bending westward. The city's ed and med sectors are providing the impetus.

June 24 - philly.com

Melbourne Pedestrians

How Jan Gehl Turned Melbourne into a Pedestrian Paradise

Danish architect Jan Gehl and a steadfast group of local collaborators have transformed Melbourne from a lifeless 9-5 city into a preeminently livable place. Mitra Anderson-Oliver looks at the principles that have guided their work.

June 24 - Assemble


By Urging Action on Climate Change, Kerry Ruffles Feathers in India

At the beginning of a two-day trip to India, the world's third largest emitter of carbon dioxide, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made solving climate change a focus of his public remarks. The U.S.'s own failures elicited skepticism from locals.

June 24 - Grist

HOT Lanes Slow to Catch on With Users

High-Occupancy Toll lanes have become a popular tool to help reduce congestion and raise revenues. But recent projects in cities throughout the U.S. have failed to meet expectations. Eric Jaffe investigates the reasons why.

June 24 - The Atlantic Cities

Detroit Healthy City: Health Impact Assessments and the Detroit Future City Plan

A look at the Detroit Future City Framework through the lens of a Health Impact Assessment may provide valuable information concerning the effects of the plan's policies and practices.

June 24 - Global Site Plans - The Grid

Three Decades After His Death, Pioneering Architect Remains L.A.'s Hottest Designer

Lauren Beale looks at the work of pioneering architect Paul Revere Williams, the first African American fellow of the American Institute of Architects, whose luxury homes designed for some of L.A.'s most prestigious residents remain in high demand.

June 24 - Los Angeles Times

Eat the City: The Art of Urban Farming

Architectural historian Richard Ingersoll surveys creative 'civic agriculture' projects in the United States and Europe where abandoned lots have been transformed into edible landscapes.

June 24 - Places Journal

Can America Adapt Its Waterfronts Before They Drown?

America's voracious appetite for waterfront development continues, even as a future filled with rising seas and extreme storms becomes more evident. The most proactive coastal areas have begun planing for adaptation, but are they doing enough?

June 24 - The Economist

BLOG POST

Responding to Smart Growth Criticism

Critics claim that smart growth policies are ineffective at reducing vehicle travel and achieving intended to objectives. This column critiques their arguments.

June 24 - Todd Litman

Bicyclists White House

A Dutch Evaluation of American Cycling

Warning: This five-minute video may be the most critical evaluation of American cycling conditions you will ever watch. After viewing, you may understand what separates cycling in the U.S. from that in The Netherlands - it's not just infrastructure.

June 24 - Bicycle Dutch

Latest Housing Trend: Luxury Yards

Apparently a pool, barbecue, and some lounge chairs is no longer enough for an elegant backyard. Full kitchens, movie theaters, bathtubs, and even air conditioning are among the items being integrated into luxury outdoor rooms.

June 24 - The Wall Street Journal

Car Graveyard

The ‘Driving Boom’ is Over: What Does That Mean for Communities and Transportation?

The trend toward less driving received national attention in May with the release of a report by US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), and the news has profound implications for both urbanism and transportation.

June 23 - Better! Cities & Towns

A Remembrance of Louise Blanchard Bethune, America's First Female Architect

Yes, The Atlantic Cities got the date wrong when it chose to celebrate Bethune's birthday last week. But that doesn't mean we can't honor the first American woman known to have worked as a professional architect (born on July 21, 1856).

June 23 - Atlantic Cities

Tallying San Francisco's Cyclists, Bike-by-Bike

Last month an innovative real-time bike counter debuted along San Francisco's Market Street, which is said to be the busiest bike street west of the Mississippi. Over its first 27 days, the counter tallied nearly 55,000 riders.

June 23 - Fast Company Co.Exist

New Report Calls Attention to Need for Critical Bridge Funding

It may have been serendipity, but Transportation for America's new report on the sorry state of America's bridges, 11% are structurally deficient, was released the same day that a temporary replacement span opened on the Skagit River bridge in Wash.

June 23 - USA Today

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