The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Qatar Airlines is gearing up their jets to run on a fuel derived from natural gas - so don't expect to see fuel tanks holding liquefied gas. Similar to the "Messerschmitt Fuel" in World War II that was derived from coal, they are called synfuels.

October 31 - The New York Times - Green Blog

Jean-Francois Mayet, the mayor of Châteauroux, introduced free ridership in a bid to turn around his town's failing transit system. Eleven years later, total ridership has increased 208 percent. Henry Grabar examines whether free transit is scalable.

October 31 - The Atlantic Cities

Although still being measured, the damage superstorm Sandy inflicted upon New York was clearly historic. But the stunning conclusion reached by Richard Barone of the Regional Planning Association, is that "[i]t can get a lot worse than this."

October 31 - Capital

Inga Saffron reviews a trio of environmentally friendly rowhouses built for low-income families in Philadelphia's Logan neighborhood, which she proclaims are "superior to anything Philadelphia has done in half a century."

October 30 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Chicago is planning to join the list of cities monetizing their public spaces and facilities by selling ad space on city property. Past efforts by the city to launch so-called “municipal marketing” efforts have been beset by delays and missteps.

October 30 - WBEZ

Hurricane Sandy demonstrates that the impacts of climate change -- rising sea levels and more extreme weather patterns -- mean that the future of America's coastal cities is in doubt.

October 30 - The Nation

The predicted "New Yorkification" of Hollywood appears to have finally found its incarnation in the proposal released last week to build twin 500- and 600-foot towers adjacent to the historic Capitol Records building.

October 30 - Curbed LA

Though fewer in number, taxis had no competition with subways, buses, and commuter rail all shut down in advance of the Monday night storm. Matt Flegenheimer continues his update on how Hurricane Sandy affected pubic transit and roads in New York.

October 30 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

The process by which creative types colonize a distressed neighborhood, making it safe for hipsters and developers, has become a common template for urban revitalization efforts. Neeraj Mehta asks who is served, and who isn't, by these forces.

October 30 - Next American City

In a prescient article for the events of this week, John Seo looks at how the global march towards increased density (in technology, land use, and financial markets) has consequences, both beneficial and catastrophic.

October 30 - Foreign Policy

With supporting evidence from a USA TODAY analysis, Thomas Frank examines the LEED points system and finds that certification, and the tax breaks and other rewards that go with it, can be easily obtained without proven environmental impact.

October 30 - USA Today

The silence on climate change during the presidential debates was deafening. With Hurricane Sandy disrupting the final week of the campaign, Mother Nature is having the last word.

October 30 - The Political Environment

In case you missed it, <em>The Atlantic Cities</em> has compiled some of the most arresting photos of Hurricane Sandy's historic visit to Manhattan, as reported on social media and elsewhere Monday evening.

October 30 - The Atlantic Cities

Last week, networking infrastructure company Cisco announced that the Orlando community of Lake Nona will be the site of the first of the company's nine planned "Smart+Connected" cities, which will endeavor to "unify urban development and IT."

October 29 - Beta News

Sommer Mathis writes about the largest planned shutdown ever of train and bus service in the U.S. as New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. cancel service on the eve of Hurricane Sandy's arrival along the mid-Atlantic seaboard.

October 29 - The Atlantic Cities

As D.C.'s J. Edgar Hoover Building reaches the end of its 40 years of service as the headquarters of the FBI, one of the city's last examples of Brutalist architecture is getting little love from preservationists as discussion begin over its fate.

October 29 - The Washington Post

For the next few days, America's eyes will be on the East Coast, where a historic storm is already making its presence felt. Quartz has posted a list of webcams to provide you with a first-hand experience of the storm, from the safety of your desk.

October 29 - Quartz

On the eve of landfall of Hurricane Sandy, Matthew Yglesias recalls Mitt Romney's 2011 response to a GOP primary debate question in which he called federal disaster relief spending "immoral."

October 29 - Slate.com

Pershing Square occupies a special place in the physical and historical landscape of Los Angeles. But the city's first park has been the victim of poor redesigns and a "massive failure of civic vision." Can anything be done to fix it?

October 29 - Los Angeles Times

BLOG POST

Students investigating options often ask if it makes a difference where the planning school is located. The short answer is it matters less to students than many think.

October 29 - Ann Forsyth