The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

It seems to work for the spotless Tokyo subway system, but in grimy New York? A pilot program that removed trash cans in select NYC subway stations resulted in decreased trash hauls (duh) and cleaner stations (huh). Now it's being expanded.

September 1 - The New York Times

Unprecedented urbanization calls for unprecedented planning, argues writer Tim De Chant. His proposal: a scientific model for responsive urban design.

September 1 - Per Square Mile

If Romney/Ryan win in November, we may know what to expect in terms of national transportation spending if they were to follow the Republican platform adopted on Aug. 28. In terms of increasing transportation revenue, it may not differ from Obama's.

September 1 - The Hill's Transportation Blog

A new report by the Brookings Institution shows that unemployment in America's cities is being exacerbated by a lack of higher-educated workers.

September 1 - The Atlantic Cities

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency warns in a new report that the aquifer underlying Gaza is rapidly depleting, and could be beyond repair by 2020, rendering Gaza "unlivable." Hope may lie in massive investments in a desalinization plant.

September 1 - Guardian

Man's best friend is taking parkour - the improvised sport that uses the urban environment as an obstacle course - to new levels. Nate Berg looks at some of "barkour's" pooch practitioners.

August 31 - The Atlantic Cities

When California's carbon market launches in November, it will become the second-largest in the world. A test auction conducted this week with 150 of the companies to be involved in the program went off without a hitch.

August 31 - Grist

Lew Sichelman reports on the lofty goals being pursued by a new $6.2 billion live/play/work development known as Barangaroo - planned for a 54-acre site in East Darling Harbor - which aims to redefine Sydney.

August 31 - Urban Land

Steve Rose surveys the scene at this year's Architecture Biennale in Venice, where he observes that the mood has shifted: "away from starchitecture towards something quieter, more collaborative and utopian."

August 31 - The Guardian

Howard Blackson explains the five elements ("five Cs") necessary for planning resilient and lively neighborhoods - complete, compact, connected, complex, and convivial.

August 31 - Better! Cities & Towns

A 52-acre development planned for Washington, D.C.'s isolated Southwest Quadrant hopes to create a 21st century waterfront by embracing the elements that have contributed to creating lively urban waterfronts for centuries, reports Kriston Capps.

August 31 - The Atlantic Cities

Riding a tide of environmental consciousness and self-sufficiency, the urban agriculture movement is gaining momentum in California. Urban farmers have been lobbying for zoning and other city regulations to bring an underground hobby into the light.

August 31 - California Planning & Development Report

This week, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation intended to increase public access to the L.A. River for recreational and educational purposes, reports Yosuke Kitazawa.

August 31 - KCET Departures

What the U.S. does with twenty-five workers, Spain does with nine; 'work rules' are part of the problem when it comes to the lack of productivity and high costs of America's regional rail systems.

August 31 - Bloomberg

With President Obama adopting historic fuel efficiency regulations for motor vehicles, it may be helpful to hear from opponents of the regulatory approach, not only from the President’s political opponents but also the venerable Brookings Institution

August 31 - US News & World Report

Three years in the making, approval nears for Plan Cincinnati - the city's first comprehensive plan to be completed in the last 32 years. Randy A. Simes shares the details of the plan, which focuses growth around 40 walkable neighborhood centers.

August 30 - UrbanCincy

By better integrating the natural and built environments, while enforcing standards of livability, Copenhagen seeks to transform its Saint Kjeld’s neighborhood into "a showcase area for climate adaptation technology," reports Damian Holmes.

August 30 - World Landscape Architecture

Ever get frustrated looking for the right aerial image of your project site on Google Earth? Emily Badger has found the solution - a DIY balloon mapping kit developed by cartographer Stewart Long.

August 30 - The Atlantic Cities

Bob Ransford argues that the policies that have shaped Vancouver's streets and skyline over the last decades into a global icon of planning and design are an accomplishment of style over substance that fail to look at how people inhabit buildings.

August 30 - The Vancouver Sun

The rapid development of Miami's Brickell neighborhood has left many residents without proper access to open space, a circumstance some are trying to remedy, despite astronomical land costs.

August 30 - NPR