The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Daniel Denvir's article will have you thinking twice about whether your elected officials should be dedicating public resources to support the newest mega-project in your city as he explores "Great Moments in the History of Boondoggles."

May 31 - The Atlantic Cities

The battleground is the Big Sandy coal power plant in eastern Kentucky. The owner, American Electric Power, under pressure from coal proponents, agreed to do a $1 billion retrofit rather than switching to natural gas. Victory was short-lived.

May 31 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

A new series of documentary films seeks to explore the value and impact of public interest projects designed using the SEED process, which is based on a belief that design can be a catalyst for positive change within the public at large.

May 30 - SEEDocs.org

Nate Berg reports on a Kenyan High Court decision that allows the government to proceed with "slum upgrading and road construction projects" in one of the largest informal settlements in the world, by tossing out ownership claims made by residents

May 30 - The Atlantic Cities

In a new book out this week, Michelle Obama explores the lessons she's learned while cultivating the First Garden, which has blossomed into a nationwide anti-obesity campaign, writes Marian Burros.

May 30 - The New York Times

Can a "munching tour" along "an auto-focused commercial strip of tattered, 1970s-era Americana 5 miles from downtown" Charlotte help redefine what "urbanism" in 21st-century America means for Mary Newsom?

May 30 - Citiwire.net

Perhaps no American city is as defined by a single architectural style as Washington D.C. is by classically inspired architecture. Roger K. Lewis argues why the nation's capital needs to break from its historical antecedents.

May 30 - The Washington Post

Carren Jao reports on recent steps the City of Los Angeles is taking to expand is woefully under-built solar power capacity.

May 30 - The Architect's Newspaper

A new study published in the June issue of <em>Landscape and Urban Planning</em> intends to settle once and for all the debate about whether urban trees provide a deterrent or inducement for crime, writes Eric Jaffe.

May 30 - The Atlantic Cities

Michael Mehaffy and Nikos Salingaros explore the application of fractal structures to the design of the built environment, and why they believe they hold the key to improving our understanding of and appreciation for our cities.

May 30 - Metropolis POV Blog

San Francisco is expanding a program of traffic light synchronization for cyclists, which is patterned after successful applications in Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Portland.

May 30 - SF.Streetsblog

Lisa W. Foderaro reports on a new deal that enables adaptive reuse of historic structures and commercial development at Brooklyn Bridge Park, and ends a long-simmering dispute.

May 30 - New York Times

BLOG POST

Unless they are independently wealthy, students thinking about graduate school in planning need to consider the cost.

May 29 - Ann Forsyth

Will Doig reflects on the scourge of public micromanagement that has "essentially become an official part of the urban planning process in many cities," and explores the psychology behind anti-development activism.

May 29 - Salon.com

In D.C.'s built-out northern suburbs in Montgomery County, Maryland, officials recently released an audacious plan for a proposed 160-mile “RTV” system that they hope will revolutionize transportation patterns in the area, writes Yonah Freemark.

May 29 - the transport politic

Dan Rosenfeld looks at two recent projects in L.A. that incorporate public art components and finds that "investments in public art may provide the highest financial returns of any funds committed to an aspect of a transit project."

May 29 - Urban Land

With the Olympic games, and millions of visitors, descending on London this summer, Sarah Lyall looks at how the capital city is hoping to spare users of its ancient road network and temperamental subway system from a transportation nightmare.

May 29 - The New York Times

A new study by the RAND corporation highlights the various benefits of expanding car-sharing nationwide. It turns out, however, that significantly reducing carbon emissions isn't one of them, writes Brad Plumer.

May 29 - The Washington Post

Christopher Hume surveys Toronto's "mid-rise crisis" and asks why the city has made it nearly impossible to build "the urban residential form par excellence."

May 29 - Toronto Star

Sarah Goodyear reports on the Windy City's ambitious plan to eliminate all traffic fatalities in the city within 10 years.

May 29 - The Atlantic Cities