The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The USA Today editorial board argues that increasing the gas tax is the best way for states to fund transportation while Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) extolls Oregon's VMT fee pilot project, which the editors calls complex and bureaucratic.

May 16 - USA Today

A new study reveals that texting while driving causes more injuries and fatalities among teens in the U.S. every year than drunk driving. Many states still allow drivers to text.

May 16 - Pocket-lint

Since the state's 400+ redevelopment agencies were killed in 2012, cities across California have struggled to manage unfinished projects and support development in distressed neighborhoods. Civic San Diego may provides a model for life after death.

May 16 - Jonathan Nettler

A new study by the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) compares that city's flood insurance claims with its floodplains, and finds a 'completely counter-intuitive' relationship between the two.

May 16 - The Atlantic Cities

BLOG POST

The evolution of today's infrastructure-intensive bike sharing systems has been a hard-fought learning process; alas, the current paradigm is about to get turned on its head, and it's happening – surprise - this week in Hoboken, New Jersey.

May 16 - Ian Sacs

In an op-ed for Forbes, economist Carl Schramm argues that "the practice of city planning has escaped reality." He indicts planners, and the plans that cities produce, for ignoring the economic imperatives that constitute a successful city.

May 16 - Forbes

'America 2013', a report released this week by the Urban Land Institute, presents the results of a nationwide survey on housing, transportation, and community preferences. Demographic trends indicate a continued demand for city living.

May 16 - Urban Land Institute

BLOG POST

Can we transform China’s Eurocentric towns from architectural caricatures into urban catalysts, and from one-dimensional exports, into reflective antidotes to the unequivocal and rapacious sprawl that continues to ravage its urban landscape?

May 15 - Vinayak Bharne

Can successful places be driven by key metrics in the same way Billy Beane assembled the 2002 Oakland As? Guest Shaker Michael Hathorne proposes a little Moneyball for cities.

May 15 - PlaceShakers

In the U.S., investment in private development has long been limited to wealthy individuals; making the type of crowdfunding that raised $239 million from 3,100 people for a skyscraper in Bogota difficult. New securities laws should change that.

May 15 - The New York Times

Code for America is planning a National Day of Civic Hacking next month to "promote transparency, participation and collaboration between governments and citizens." In advance of the event, they've explained how cities can benefit from civic hacking.

May 15 - Code for America

After a decade of phenomenal growth driven by security and stimulus spending, recent cuts to the federal government's budget are being felt throughout D.C. As office vacancies fall nationwide, they're rising in the Washington area.

May 15 - The Wall Street Journal

Stepping away from campaign rhetoric, what must the next mayor focus on to ensure a healthy and sustainable future for the largest city on the West Coast? Civic, business, labor, and intellectual readers offer advice to the next Mayor of Los Angeles.

May 15 - The Planning Report

A Victorian house in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco may be the Zelig of the city's social history. From middle class professionals, to working class earthquake refugees, to Japanese entrepreneurs, to jazz mecca; it's seen it all.

May 15 - The San Francisco Chronicle

A new Census Bureau report finds population density going down everywhere in the country -- except California, where it's going up in most metropolitan areas, especially smaller ones.

May 15 - California Planning & Development Report

Vancouver's efforts to facilitate accessory dwellings has proven to be popular - perhaps too popular for some residents. As officials prepare to expand the program citywide, they're tweaking it to address concerns with privacy and parking.

May 15 - The Vancouver Sun

After years of neglect, periodic riots, and unfulfilled promises from the state, Paris's low-income suburbs are finally doing for themselves what had long been promised to them - creating opportunities for economic development and social integration.

May 15 - The New York Times

The Republican party has long obstructed efforts to pass climate change legislation in the United States. But the party may soon be forced to reckon with its "willful denial of science and facts," reports Coral Davenport.

May 15 - National Journal

FEATURE

Crowdsourcing is a great tool for locating potholes and taking surveys – but can it inspire an underdeveloped neighborhood to come together as a community? A developer in Salt Lake City is motivating residents to use DIY techniques in placemaking.

May 14 - Tim Halbur

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the Rockefeller Foundation is kicking off a three-year worldwide competition to select 100 cities to receive training and support to boost their resilience.

May 14 - The Atlantic Cities