The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Chicago's Landmark Merchandise Mart Gets New Life as Tech Hub

As Chicago's River North area continues its transformation, the area's historic, behemoth Merchandise Mart has become a hub for high-tech businesses. The adaptive reuse success story was the largest building in the world when it opened in 1930.

September 27 - The New York Times

Los Angeles Considers How to Close its 'Missing Link'

Long Beach's <em>Press Telegram</em> explores the options for completing a 4.5-mile stretch of the Long Beach (710) Freeway connecting Alhambra to Pasadena, a controversy that's been brewing for five decades.

September 27 - Press-Telegram

Indonesia Drives Headlong into the Automobile Age

Consultant predicts a 275% increase in car ownership by 2025.

September 27 - The Jakarta Post

Is a Rebound in the Architecture Profession on the Horizon?

Finally, some good (?) news for the decimated architecture profession. A survey conducted recently by McGraw-Hill Construction predicts that by 2014, U.S. architecture firms expect a shortage of qualified designers, reports William Hanley.

September 27 - Architectural Record

Taking Health into Account

Do you know the effect your spiffy new development will have on the neighbors' health? Aaron Wernham and the Kresge Foundation think you could use a health impact assessment.

September 27 - Shelterforce Magazine


Can a Long Shot Lawsuit End Nairobi's Forced Evictions

Forty residents of Nairobi's Mukuru slum have petitioned "some of Kenya's most powerful individuals, companies and banks, demanding rights to the land they live on and an end to forced evictions." They've already succeeded in halting some evictions.

September 27 - The Independent

Beleaguered NY Housing Authority Turns to Private Sector to Raise Needed Cash

Beset by daunting challenges, and a summer of stinging articles and reports, the chairman of the New York City Housing Authority has announced a controversial plan to raise hundreds of millions of dollars by leasing land to private developers.

September 27 - The New York Times


Chicago Neighborhoods Consider Life After Coal

Chris Bentley reports on the complex discussions centered around what to do with the sites of two massive coal plants closing this month in Chicago. As Bentley notes, "what happens to these 132 acres in Chicago could have nationwide implications."

September 26 - The Architect's Newspaper

Louisville Wrestles With Freeway Dilemma

Critic Michael Kimmelman, fresh back from Louisville's Idea Festival, questions why that quickly emerging city wants to double down on a new freeway expansion through its downtown while other progressive cities are tearing theirs down.

September 26 - New York Times

How is Architecture Failing its Next Generation?

Caela J. McKeever traces the ways in which the gap between the passion of architecture school and the stark realities of professional practice are discouraging young architects.

September 26 - Crosscut

What's Driving the Rise in NYC Traffic Deaths?

Despite years of consistent decline, and a variety of efforts aimed at improving safety, traffic fatalities spiked by 23 percent last year in New York City. Matt Flegenheimer examines what may be causing the increase.

September 26 - The New York Times

Rail Debate: Should the Federal Government Invest in High Speed Rail?

Two transportation experts, Ken Orski, editor of Innovation Briefs and Joshua Schank, CEO of the Eno Center take opposing sides on whether it makes sense for the federal government to invest in high speed rail in this Wall Street Journal exclusive.

September 26 - The Wall Street Journal - Business

Vacant Lots Ripe for Parks, and Legal Troubles

Nate Berg reports on the legal problems that can arise when a good Samaritan tries to create a park on a vacant lot.

September 26 - The Atlantic Cities

This News Link Has a Carbon Footprint

In response to a New York Times investigation in to the energy wastage of Internet companies and their vast, electricity-sucking data centers, Will Oremus argues that we all need to take a look at our own online carbon footprints.

September 26 - Slate.com

Arts Compose a Healthy Economy in Philadelphia

Stephan Salisbury details how the cultural sector in Philadelphia has grown to support the region's economic vitality.

September 26 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Baseball, Architecture, and the City of the Future

Montreal architect Vedanta Balbahadur writes about his hometown's fall from its status as Canada's premier city through the lenses of baseball and the built environment.

September 26 - Satellite Magazine

'Crosswalk Vigilantes' Beset Pittsburgh

Diana Nelson Jones describes how residents of "one of the most spirited do-it-yourself neighborhoods in the city" took it upon themselves to improve pedestrian safety.

September 26 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Starchitect Bait and Switch Has New Yorkers Concerned

As the Upper West Side's massive Riverside Center development moves forward with a new designer, will controls negotiated during the approvals process be enough to preserve the vision of architect Christian de Portzamparc?

September 25 - The New York Observer

Taking Stock of California's Leadership in Integrated Regional Planning

A new report from the NRDC and Move LA documents the implementation of California's landmark SB 375, the nation’s first law to link transportation and land use planning with greenhouse gas emissions.

September 25 - Switchboard

Why Hailing a Taxi May Soon Be Ancient History

Ted Mann explores the new wave of mobile applications changing the way cabs and their customers interact, which could make the act of physically hailing a cab obsolete in as soon as five years.

September 25 - The Wall Street Journal

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