The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

No, the title of this post is not an analogy. Diane Ackerman takes a looks at the very literal ways in which cities around the world are harnessing body heat to warm up residential and office buildings.

January 3 - The New York Times

BART's Oakland Airport Connector will not look at all like the familiar cable car found across the Bay, but will be propelled by a moving cable similar to the Clay Street Hill RR in S.F. almost 140 years ago. The 3-mile ride to OAK will be 8 minutes.

January 3 - San Francisco Chronicle

Richey Piiparinen explores the "original sin" of the quest for urban “livability” - economic development - and examines what the pitfalls are when cities are designed for high-valued consumers rather than people.

January 3 - New Geography

In a photo essay on small homes and the people who love them, Sightline Fellow Alyse Nelson explains the attraction of compact living and the ways in which small homeowners are living it up by scaling down.

January 3 - Sightline Daily

Russia's growing middle class is leading a boom in American-style enclosed shopping malls, which are still rather new to the country. Some rival the size and popularity of Minnesota's infamous Mall of America.

January 3 - The New York Times

Dozens of transit expansion projects will start, continue, or complete construction this year across America. Yonah Freemark delivers a thorough rundown of the exciting year ahead in transit construction and makes note of a dark cloud on the horizon.

January 2 - the transport politic

Jason Corburn issues an indictment of the "community malpractice" by policy-makers that's led to America's glaring health inequalities, and argues that 2013 must be the year that planning works towards improving the living conditions of the poor.

January 2 - RWJF Human Capital Blog

The globe's increasing urbanization has spawned city-building projects on a scale never seen before, and each week seems to bring news of the next instant city. Mackenzie Keast tracks nine such projects that are due to proceed in 2013.

January 2 - Urban Times

Looks like we've got our first breaking urban news story of the year with today's announcement of the purchase of car-sharing leader Zipcar by rental car behemoth Avis. Steven Pearlstein laments what the deal means for Zipcar and consumers.

January 2 - The Washington Post

Over a long career in public office, Gov. Jerry Brown has earned a reputation as a pioneer in the modern environmental movement. Now, in the twilight of that career, some see him forsaking that path for the pragmatism of economic growth.

January 2 - Los Angeles Times

Richard Blackwell examines the foundations of Canada's housing "affordability crisis," in which prices have doubled over the last decade due to low rates and easy mortgage terms.

January 2 - The Globe and Mail

Homicides are decreasing nationwide, but a federal study reveals that the rate has decreased about 17% in cities and increased by the same rate in suburbs. Two WSJ reporters look behind the numbers for the causes with a focus on Atlanta's suburbs.

January 2 - Wall Street Journal

The mass shooting at Newton, Connecticut brought gun control, violence in TV and video games, and mental health care to the forefront of a national debate. As talk turns to school design, architects consider the tradeoffs of fortress-like schools.

January 2 - Architectural Record

As they reflect on a year of exciting advances in urbanism, and look forward to the next, the writers at The Atlantic Cities discuss the most loathed trends they hope will die in 2013.

January 2 - The Atlantic Cities

The proposal is simple. Instead of investing billions of dollars more on elaborate infrastructure or trust a corrupted police force, the concept is to nudge this complex system at two targeted points in the city, argues Mitchell Sutika Sipus.

January 2 - Humanitarian Space

BLOG POST

There are various ways to define transport efficiency which can lead to very different conclusions as to what transport policies and projects are best overall. Conventional planning tends to evaluate transport system performance based on mobility, which assumes that faster travel is always better. A new planning paradigm evaluates transport system performance based on accessibility (people's ability to access services and activities) which leads to very different definitions of efficiency and very different conclusions about how to improve transport systems.

January 1 - Todd Litman

One of the America's most unhealthy, auto-centric cities has seen the light - the handlebar headlight that is - with a push to improve its bicycling infrastructure as a means of economic development.

January 1 - The New York Times

Commentator D.J. Waldie laments the stunning health hazards for L.A.'s pedestrians, and proposes five solutions to make the city safer for those on foot.

January 1 - KCET

While Washington bickers over partisan issues, mayors in the rest of the country are showing strong leadership and innovation. Newsweek has compiled a list of the top cities pushing education reform, public safety, quality of life, and job creation.

January 1 - The Daily Beast

Several potential replacements for Lisa Jackson are said to be under consideration. One thing that person can count on is a very thorough, if not grueling, confirmation process. Unless the Senate changes the filibuster rules, 60 votes will be needed.

January 1 - The Hill's Energy & Environment Blog