The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Mark Wilson looks at the NY MTA's plan to install 90 touch-screen kiosks at subway stations around the city beginning this year. The innovative kiosks will offer rider information, interactive maps, and will even be able to run third-party apps.

March 20 - Fast Company Co.Design

In the first entry in a series exploring the connection between the processes and products of Placemaking and city governance, PPS explores how "Place Governance" can increase leadership, equity, and cohesion among citizens.

March 20 - Project for Public Spaces blog

Emissions of CO2 in the U.S. have fallen almost 13 percent since 2007 - "perhaps the biggest decline among industrial countries." Rather than the result of an enlightened policy shift, the drop has resulted from market forces, says Eduardo Porter.

March 20 - The New York Times

Fox News ran two articles on the climate for increasing state gas taxes, almost exactly a year apart. The 2012 article is pessimistic about the ability to increase gas taxes while the March 14th one is decidedly upbeat. Why the change, what happened?

March 20 - Fox Business

On the eve of round 2 (the real start) of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, Facebook has analyzed the more than 1 million "likes" entered for each of the 68 teams in the tournament to create a comprehensive geography of March Madness.

March 20 - Facebook

Here's a news item that's sure to make for interesting conversation at your next dinner party. A new study has found that liberal homeowners tend to use at least five percent less electricity than conservatives.

March 20 - Pacific Standard

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has identified seven city neighborhoods as "Opportunity Planning Areas" where public resources will be directed to help shape and accelerate nascent redevelopment efforts, reports Fran Spielman.

March 20 - Chicago Sun-Times

Our brains simply tune out anything that might suggest that our behavior is in some way complicit in our problems. Scott Doyon zeros in on the obvious, but often overlooked, problems with our auto-oriented culture.

March 20 - PlaceShakers

A sleek new pavilion made of reflective stainless steel, designed by Foster + Partners, is helping to reshape the image of France's rough-and-tumble port city as a destination.

March 20 - Fast Company Co.Design

FEATURE

Over the course of the year, the editors of Planetizen review and summarize thousands of articles, books, studies and editorials related to planning and urban development. Here are our picks for the most notable planning trends of the past year.

March 19 - Jonathan Nettler

If the U.S. Air Force has its wish, America's next subway system won't be built in a city and won't carry passengers (not human ones anyway). Robert Beckhusen reports on plans for a "mobile doomsday train."

March 19 - Wired

In narrative and in images, Luis Rodriguez discusses the findings of a recent study tour to Germany and Scandinavia to discover the secrets to creating more livable communities.

March 19 - Sustainable Cities Collective

For a number of reasons, the use of wood for the construction of large buildings fell out of favor more than a century ago. So why is one Vancouver-based architect arguing for constructing high-rises using one of nature's oldest building materials?

March 19 - The Atlantic Cities

While modernist buildings have fared somewhat better in the minds of preservationists, recent trends seem to indicate a more promising future for protecting the significant modernist landscapes of the recent past, says Charles Birnbaum.

March 19 - Dwell

For the first time in 15 years, the American Society of Civil Engineers' report on the state of America's infrastructure sees improvement. But the group has identified the need for $3.6 trillion in investment by 2020 to fix enduring problems.

March 19 - The New York Times

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has kicked off a new bicycle safety campaign designed to raise awareness of cyclists' legal right to take a full traffic lane.

March 19 - The Source

Gas prices may rise due to the ethanol requirement. But there is no shortage - in fact, there's a glut, as we reported in Nov., 2009. It's the ethanol credits that have surged in price. What - you didn't know there was an ethanol credit market?

March 19 - Is It Time To End Ethanol Requirement For Gasoline?

While many cities are seeking to build large entertainment venues to revive their downtowns, St. Petersburg is taking the opposite track. Stephen Nohlgren examines whether Tropicana Field can be the city's next big urban mixed use development.

March 19 - Tampa Bay Times

In need of at least $230 million for system-wide repairs, NYC libraries, which receive less than $15 million a year from the city, look to strike land deals with private developers, report Joseph Berger and Al Baker.

March 19 - New York Times

The resurgence of farmers markets across America has helped feed the growing desire for locally grown produce. Unfortunately, the return on investment still doesn't pencil out for many farmers.

March 19 - NPR