The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Out of concern that L.A.'s downtown properties are not being put to the highest and best use, the City Councilman representing the district has "quietly authored" a motion to incentivize density and place a moratorium on low-rise development.

October 15 - Los Angeles Downtown News

New development is poised to add thousands of riders to D.C.'s Metro, but rush hour trains are often packed already. Though Metro has proposed $6 billion in fixes, some see better land use planning across the area as the key to solving the problem.

October 15 - The Washington Post

In case you haven't noticed, California is big into alternative energy. Just how big? $1.6 billion was spent last year and $15 billion over the last decade as education and public services fought for scraps. The spending is attracting new scrutiny.

October 15 - Los Angeles Times

Former Treasury Secretary LaHood made distracted driving a pet cause. The dangers of walking and texting are well documented. But would could straphangers have to fear from smartphones? Plenty, as the death of a S.F. Muni rider illustrates.

October 15 - San Francisco Chronicle

To celebrate its first anniversary, Future Cities has assembled a list of the top 100 city innovators making the biggest difference across a range of industries and specialties.

October 15 - Future Cities

Musing on the discussion at last week's Citylab conference, Jarrett Walker finds a surprising convergence with the ideology of America's Tea Party: "Big and active national government may not be the answer." Would cities be better off going it alone?

October 15 - Human Transit

The city continues to grapple with the practical implications of local planning legend Edmund Bacon's prescriptions for carless streets.

October 15 - Next City

For the tenth time in eleven years, Amtrak hit another historic high in ridership in FY 2013. While overall ridership was up one percent, revenues were up more than 4 percent.

October 15 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

By "protecting" San Francisco's physical character through down-zoning and NIMBY activism, the city has transformed its social character, as families, young adults, and others flee the city to find cheaper rents. A regional solution is required.

October 14 - The Atlantic Cities

With Oregon set to implement their vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) fee program, Streetsblog's Tanya Snyder provides answers to ten questions, including the privacy challenge, that she posed to ODOT’s Jim Whitty, architect of the program.

October 14 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Bill de Blasio, NYC's likely next mayor, has proposed passing inclusionary zoning regulations to increase the city's supply of affordable housing. Other cities have struggled with such regulations, raising questions about its effectiveness.

October 14 - Crain's New York Business

Across Los Angeles, more than a thousand concrete buildings built before the mid-1970s are at risk of collapse during an earthquake. With the area overdue for a substantial shaker, time is running out to identify at-risk structures and save lives.

October 14 - Los Angeles Times

The role of photography in urban planning should not be underestimated. Visual communication is incredibly important and powerful. Michael Heater provides a guide to using photos to remember, inspire, and create.

October 14 - APA

For those who think architectural history isn’t something to sniff at, a new exhibition at the California College of the Arts aims to convince otherwise.

October 14 - Archinect

While London struggles with "supergentrification" and rising home prices, England's rust belt cities suffer from long-term decline and the withdraw of public spending. How can these places find their post-industrial footing?

October 14 - The Economist

Supported by imagery of human urban conduct, Chuck Wolfe argues that walkable is good, but sit-able is better—and that "it’s time for the next big focal point and the next big idea, the 'Sit-able City'."

October 14 - myurbanist

In an excerpt on Places from his new book, Smart Cities, urban forecaster Anthony Townsend considers the inevitable glitches.

October 14 - Places Journal

A decade of high-rise condo construction has transformed Toronto's skyline. But it appears the sky's not the limit when it comes to more skyscrapers. A proposal to build three 80-story towers designed by Frank Gehry has sparked a debate over density.

October 14 - The Toronto Star

After waiting more than five years, Elk Grove, one of the fastest growing cities in California and the country, will soon learn whether it can expand its planning area by another 8,000 acres to accommodate more residents.

October 13 - Sacramento Bee

In a slideshow of stunning photos by renowned photographer Iwan Baan, The New York Times shows the latest example of what spending an estimated $6 billion a year on architectural splendors will buy you.

October 13 - The New York Times