The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The construction industry is licking its chops as plans for Sandy’s recovery take shape. After years of idleness due to the housing bust, builders and contractors find themselves ready to roll up their sleeves, and in need of a new workforce.

November 4 - The New York Times

The Oct. 31 parade to honor the World Series-winning San Francisco Giants resulted in record-breaking numbers of riders taking BART, Caltrain, SF Muni and ferries to attend the parade who were accommodated by increased service. Why not continue it?

November 4 - San Jose Mercury News

You may have heard about smart cars, but what about smart streets? A plan for modernizing European highways has been generating a lot of buzz from civil engineers worldwide, reports Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan.

November 3 - Fast Company Co.Design

Cassim Shepard and Varick Shute respond to an exhortation by Governor Cuomo to "build [the New York City area] back smarter" in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, and in the face of changing weather patterns, with some ideas on what that will entail.

November 3 - Urban Omnibus

Voters in S.F. will be given an opportunity to right a perceived 100 year old environmental wrong next week when they cast ballots on whether to develop a multi-billion dollar plan to drain Hetch Hetchy Valley, the city’s pristine water source.

November 3 - Los Angeles Times

“After 15 years, his vision to transform this long-forsaken industrial town into a bedroom community for single, young professionals is finally taking shape,” writes Ronda Kaysen. Hopes for redevelopment center on the town’s commuter rail station.

November 3 - The New York Times

Some highway advocates in the suburbs surrounding Washington, DC think that building an outer Beltway through Northern Virginia will be beneficial to the planet. Others disagree.

November 3 - Greater Greater Washington

BLOG POST

I can't remember the last time I left the house and gave a moment's though to whether I'd be warm enough, or whether I needed to bring an umbrella. Meanwhile, half the East Coast is underwater right now.

November 2 - Josh Stephens

Courageous is the brave soul who drives a truck through Durham, North Carolina, where a bridge has been decapitating high-profile vehicles with reckless impunity.

November 2 - The Atlantic Cities

With gasoline increasingly hard to find in New York and many subway lines still down, biking has surged in popularity in the aftermath of Sandy. Bikes are selling briskly and new adherents are jumping in the saddle.

November 2 - CNBC

John Gallagher writes about the optimism surrounding a project proposed by Quicken Loans founder and developer Dan Gilbert, which could bring 33,000-square feet of retail space, and 1,300 parking spaces, to downtown Detroit.

November 2 - Detroit Free Press

In blacked-out Manhattan, recovery is slow, if not entirely absent. To help fill the void left by public agencies, a self-organized recovery effort is trying to help those left behind, with the assistance of technology.

November 2 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Architecture critic Michael Kimmelman delivers his verdict on the Barclays Center, the new home of the Brooklyn Nets and the first phase of the larger Atlantic Yards mixed-use project. He has praise for the arena, but lambastes the larger plan.

November 2 - The New York Times

For anyone that's seen the shocking images of boardwalks ripped to shreds and homes and roller coasters now sitting in the ocean, its clear the Jersey Shore bore the brunt of Sandy. The debate has already begun as to whether the area should rebuild.

November 2 - Salon

Despite a ceremonial groudbreaking last year, a $5.2-billion elevated rail project four decades in the making is facing an uncertain future as the centerpiece of a fierce campaign battle.

November 2 - Los Angeles Times

Ariel Schwartz explains Recovers, "a logistical management system for disaster recovery," that gives communities tools for matching volunteers with recovery tasks, in the event of a disaster.

November 2 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Nathan Norris continues his series on municipal placemaking mistakes. This time: failure to understand the big picture and its order of operations.

November 2 - PlaceShakers

NJ's Republican Gov. Chris Christie heaps praise on President Obama, and the governor of the neighboring, hard-hit state, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has also stirred the political pot by going where no other pol has gone - linking Sandy to climate change.

November 2 - San Francisco Chronicle

Critics of the proposed $500-million Southern California International Gateway, which is being touted as “one of the 'greenest' freight yards in the nation," contend it will actually reduce air quality and harm low income, minority residents.

November 1 - Los Angeles Times

Extreme events tend to expose the true weaknesses and strengths of a place and its people. In the same way that Sandy revealed the shortcomings in NY's physical infrastructure, it has shown the growing chasm in the city's economic infrastructure.

November 1 - The Atlantic