The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Neal Peirce looks at how Philadelphia has used light to help transform the image, and fortunes, of Center City.

January 18 - Citiwire

The EPA has released plans for how it intends to clean up Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal Superfund site. Branden Klayko reports on the $500 million, two pronged approach.

January 18 - The Architect's Newspaper

Declining populations and economic malaise in many European countries are just some of the forces contributing to what most agree seems like a lasting decline in the continent's demand for automobiles.

January 18 - The Wall Street Journal

Are we growing more connected, yet further and further apart? And how does this bode for the resilience of the communities we share? Scott Doyon finds promise as of yet unfulfilled.

January 18 - PlaceShakers

The conservative commentator has proposed a $2 billion "city-theme park hybrid" that "would bring several of Glenn’s seemingly disconnected projects into one place." You'll be surprised at the similarities with certain Smart Growth principles.

January 18 - DC.Streetsblog

31 atmospheric scientists have written a new study on the major component of soot called 'black carbon', long identified with causing respiratory problems - and have shown how it is the 2nd most important agent of climate change after carbon dioxide.

January 18 - The New York Times

Mexico City's emergence as a "commuter's paradise" due to a focus on people and places, rather than cars and driving, has earned the city this year's Sustainable Transport Award from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP).

January 18 - National Geographic

A new book on the subject argues that we shouldn't be so quick to discount China's increasing instances of architectural mimicry. The practice reveals much about 'the hopes, dreams and contradictions of China's middle class.'

January 17 - The Atlantic Cities

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a two-part bill to fund the recovery from Hurricane Sandy. In an essay written prior to the vote, Rob Young criticizes the rush to approve rebuilding the entire coast as it was before the storm.

January 17 - Bloomberg

With yesterday's announcement that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will soon step down, the three top environmental posts in the federal government are waiting to be filled. The vacancies are further muddling the administration's second term agenda.

January 17 - The Washington Post

In a preview of his statewide transportation plan, Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick unveiled an ambitious agenda and an appetizing menu of potential funding options on Monday. The final plan released yesterday has some wanting to send their meals back.

January 17 - Streetsblog

While the wind energy credit was extended thanks to the fiscal cliff deal, don't expect to see a flurry of wind projects built and certainly it won't match last year's production. Much uncertainty remains for this renewable power industry.

January 17 - The Wall Street Journal

Kaid Benfield proposes not only more walkable neighborhoods in the United States, where a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle every 7 minutes, but also more walking to reverse the country's alarming obesity trend.

January 17 - NRDC Switchboard

Yosh Asato compares the current dot-com and housing boom around South of Market (SoMA), the heart of San Francisco's tech industry, to previous booms that resulted in inevitable crashes. Is there an optimistic future for the city this time around?

January 17 - Metropolis Magazine

Earlier this week, a rail-company cleaning lady in Stockholm was able to take a commuter train on a late night joy ride through the city. The joy, however, ended when she crashed the train into a tony apartment building.

January 17 - The Daily Mail

What do three-pack-a-day smoking habits, triple-decker cheese burgers and sprawl have in common? They all offer immediate gratification and deferred consequences. But now the bill's coming due. Ben Brown lays out some ways to face the music.

January 17 - PlaceShakers

From roof mounted gas-powered generators to emergency floodgates and watertight mechanical rooms, developers and their designers in New York are already incorporating preventative measures into new and revised designs for their buildings.

January 17 - The New York Times

Ryan Holeywell discusses a new report from researchers at the University of California, Berkeley that examines the top reasons people stop using public transit. Frequent, consistent service is most important to riders.

January 16 - Governing

New high-rise towers spreading throughout central London are threatening the character of the city's most important historic sites, reports Martin Bailey.

January 16 - The Art Newspaper

As waves of gentrification sweep through the poor and middle class neighborhoods of New York City's outer boroughs, Stephen Smith argues that conservative, and outdated, zoning codes are to blame for the unequal balance between supply and demand.

January 16 - The Atlantic Cities