The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

With the Bloomberg administration's investments in transforming the area around the acclaimed Brooklyn Academy of Music finally bearing fruit, the emerging cultural district is earning comparisons to the city's premier arts hub - Lincoln Center.

March 29 - The Real Deal

Public housing models in the U.S. are becoming more community-oriented and taking varying demographics into account during the design process. Engagement with the street, the neighborhood, and social services are creating new design typologies.

March 29 - Architectural Record

With longtime Boston mayor Thomas Menino's announcement that he will not seek re-election, Paul McMorrow assesses the five-term mayor's impact on the shape of the city.

March 29 - The Boston Globe

A new study conducted by the EPA shows that 55 percent of the nation's rivers are in "poor" condition, and only 21 percent are rated as "good" and "healthy biological communities." Farm and industrial pollution are to blame.

March 28 - The Atlantic Wire

The certainly won't win any design awards, but new multi-family residential buildings erected by Hasidic developers in Brooklyn show that it's possible to build spacious and cheap housing in New York for families small and large.

March 28 - The New York Observer

A new building at a Mexico City hospital has been screened with an advanced, and quite attractive, tile that breaks down the harmful pollutants in smog into less toxic substances, reports Zak Stone.

March 28 - Fast Company Co.Exist

A bipartisan group of 68 members of the U.S. House have authored a letter to outgoing Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood asking that U.S. DOT develop performance measures that will specifically target the safety of non-motorized users.

March 28 - Transportation Nation

The mayor and city planning department's vision of a taller, denser, and more transit-oriented Hollywood is facing stiff community opposition as a proposal for a $664 million, two-skyscraper complex goes before L.A.'s Planning Commission.

March 28 - Bloomberg

Have you noticed the architectural trend in spicing up bland glass skyscrapers with forests of foliage? Tim de Chant strips away this veneer of extreme greenwashing by explaining why trees won't grow on a ledge 500 feet high.

March 28 - Per Square Mile

Donald Trump says he will sue to prevent the construction of an offshore wind farm that government officials claim will boost the local economy and meet half of residential energy needs in Aberdeen, Scotland.

March 28 - Huffington Post

Under a plan developed by Sasaki Associates, a 6.5-mile-long strip of vacant and derelict industrial land along the Allegheny riverfront would reconnect the surrounding neighborhood to the water with mixed use development and public open spaces.

March 28 - The Architect's Newspaper

Freight rail is booming throughout the U.S. While shipping oil from North Dakota's Bakken shale basin has been a huge factor in the resurgence, Betsy Morris digs deeper and analyzes the surprising competition between road and rail.

March 28 - The Wall Street Journal

Scientists have long theorized that natural settings can help us manage the stress induced by urban living. New research made possible by advances in EEG technology has confirmed the restorative effects of parks.

March 28 - The New York Times

Set to launch this summer with 700 bikes at 70 locations from San Jose to San Francisco, the pilot bike-share program run by Alta Bike Share will be the first regional program in the country, reports Molly Schremmer.

March 27 - SPUR

The development of the $750M Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, which will soon be home to 17,500 employees, is being seen as a catalyst for a culture change in the city towards urban lifestyles oriented around its heretofore underutilized rail system.

March 27 - The Buffalo News

A rambling walk through New York City, with no destination in mind, reveals to FT columnist John Kay the value of unplanned social interactions - a value that's behind Yahoo’s recent policy limiting telecommuting.

March 27 - The Financial Times

As New York celebrates the 100th anniversary of Grand Central Terminal, which nearly suffered the fate of the city's other grand station, Governing has assembled a photo collection of nine other treasured stations that continue to live and prosper.

March 27 - Governing

Queen's version of Manhattan's High Line is known as the QueensWay, an abandoned LIRR branch that went from Rego Park to Rockaway. Two congressmen have now endorsed a plan to bring the train back - though planning for the new park has already begun.

March 27 - Queens Chronicle

The impending expiration of a controversial, but important, federal tax credit deflated wind power's prognosis late last year. With many companies restarting moribund projects after the credit was renewed in January, the industry is perking up.

March 27 - The New York Times

To celebrate its 50th post, Jeremy Rosenberg has handed over the reins of his "Laws That Shape L.A." column. The focus of this week's guest feature: the special overlays and site-specific designations that cover 60 percent of the city's geography.

March 27 - KCET.org