The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

From Niagara Falls comes news that the State of New York will rip out a two-mile stretch of the Robert Moses Parkway, which has divided city residents from the scenic Niagara Gorge for a half-century.

February 21 - The Buffalo News

Part of a larger strategy to address its numerous environmental ills, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases will begin taxing carbon emissions, possibly as early as 2015.

February 21 - Quartz

Transportation costs disproportionately effect low-income families, while federal transportation spending biases affluent drivers over lower-income mass transit riders. Activists are utilizing civil rights legislation to challenge the status quo.

February 21 - Boston Review

Back in December, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced his aim of attracting Seattle's bikers and tech jobs while opening a new protected bike lane downtown. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn isn't taking Emanuel's entreaties lightly.

February 21 - Seattle Bike Blog

New York Gov. Cuomo has proposed a $400 million buyout and relocation program, while Sen. Charles Schumer has joined the growing chorus calling for rebuilding to a higher standard in storm-damaged areas. Will their recovery efforts collide?

February 21 - Crain's New York Business

A new report calls into question who's benefiting from the Bloomberg administration’s plan to build or preserve 165,000 affordable housing units in the city. Are federal guidelines to blame for 'affordable' units being too costly?

February 21 - The New York Times

Twenty English cities are joining an existing eight in the government's "city deal" program, which gives local governments expanded planning and financial powers.

February 21 - BBC News

The Providence Arcade, thought to be America's oldest enclosed shopping mall, suffered the same fate as many of its 20th century brethren when it was shuttered in 2008. A developer seeks to revive the building as a mixed-use "micro-loft" complex.

February 21 - Mother Nature Network

A new report shows that New York City could be 90 percent carbon-free by 2050, "without breaking the bank," if it upgrades heating systems and transportation to renewable electricity, reports Taz Loomans.

February 21 - Inhabitat

As mixed-use development increasingly supersedes single-use development, Roger K. Lewis argues that we should retire the word "zoning" and its outdated "characterization of how we plan and shape growth."

February 21 - The Washington Post

Sources said that Ernest Moniz, former Energy Department undersecretary for President Clinton may replace Steven Chu as Energy Secretary. He now directs MIT's Energy Initiative and serves on Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

February 20 - Reuters

With the release of his new "Sustainable D.C." plan, Mayor Vincent Gray has outlined dozens of initiatives "that he hopes will vastly change how residents and visitors experience and travel across the city," reports Tim Craig.

February 20 - The Washington Post

Today, President Obama is expected to flesh out the details of his plan to repair the nation’s ailing infrastructure. John Schwartz details the initiatives, which aim to circumvent Congress and capitalize on private investment.

February 20 - The New York Times

Old and new maps take center stage in China's effort to lay claims to disputed territories.

February 20 - The Washington Post

The Atlanta City Council approved spending cash from a quality of life bond package to fund several improvements, including $2.5 million in bicycle projects. Among the projects to be funded are the city's first bike boulevard.

February 20 - Creative Loafing Atlanta

We think of shared workspaces as the hot trend in fostering productivity. But libraries have been incubating innovation for millennia. A new program seeks to make libraries a key cog in fostering the start-up economy.

February 20 - The Atlantic Cities

James Bacon examines how in Washington DC's suburbs high-density developments produce significantly more tax revenue per acre than low density developments.

February 20 - Bacon's Rebellion

Researchers are beginning to understand how the human brain is hard-wired to respond to certain patterns, colors, and proportions. The result is "a revolution in the science of design," says Lance Hosey, and "most people...aren’t even aware of it."

February 20 - The New York Times

With more than 10,000 downloads in the U.S., i-Tree calculates the environmental and economic benefits of planting trees.

February 20 - Next City

In the last three decades HOAs have grown six-fold in the U.S. They now cover 20 percent of American homes, and stifle sustainability and expression through “one of the most significant privatizations of local government functions in history.”

February 20 - NRDC Switchboard