The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

More Transit than Roads Projects on Deck, But Transit Funding Lags

In Northwestern Indiana, transit projects will outnumber road projects for the firs time in history. Funding for roads, however, still outpaces transit projects.

June 19 - Post-Tribune

Opportunities for Big-Box Developments Abound Across the Northern Border

After being hidden in plain sight for decades, Canada now emerges as the hot spot for U.S. "international" investment.

June 19 - Retail Traffic

St. Louis Streetcar On Path to Revival

Plans to revive a decades-dead streetcar loop in St. Louis are gathering steam.

June 18 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A Pool in the River

This <em>Kickstarter</em> campaign is hoping to raise money to build a floating pool in the waters around New York City that use and filter river water to provide a public swimming facility.

June 18 - Kickstarter

Marketing Cities as Products in China

City development has become a close cousin to product sales in China, where developers are finding new ways to market their services as suites of urban products.

June 18 - Ad Age


Making Room for Public Transit

A report authored by Transportation for America and the American Public Transportation Association suggests that, no less than Social Security and Medicare, retiring baby boomers will have to cope with limited mobility options.

June 18 - The Antiplanner

Bill Proposes Privatization of Northeast Rail Corridor

House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica has proposed a bill to privatize Northeast Corridor rail operations. This post from <em>Pedestrian Observations</em> looks at what such a plan would mean.

June 18 - Pedestrian Observations


Friday Funny: Keepin' it Real in the Whole Foods Parking Lot

DJDave, aka David Wittman, spoofs L.A. culture and the politics of the parking lot in this clever video.

June 17 - YouTube

Conan O'Brien's Streetscape Improvements to Proposed 'Conan O'Brien Blvd.'

In response to Chicago's recent naming of a street in honor of Oprah Winfrey, late night TV host Conan O'Brien has suggested having his own street in L.A., along with various streetscape improvements.

June 17 - Curbed LA

South Korea to Build New Capital for Southern Sudan

The new country of Southern Sudan, officially declaring its independence in July, will have help from the national development arm of South Korea in building a proposed new capital city.

June 17 - Gulf News

Cities Try New Approaches to Fund Streetcars

As federal transportation funding grows increasingly uncertain, cities across the country are trying new approaches to generate funds for their planned streetcar projects.

June 17 - Urban Land

Secret Plans for Chinese Version of Austrian Village Irk Locals

Plans to build a copy of a scenic Austrian village in China have irked officials in Hallstatt, Austria, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

June 17 - Der Spiegel

Urban Development Shifts Reduce Driving

The patterns of urban development over the past few decades have pushed more and more people into cars by necessity. But as design priorities change, so are people's walking and driving habits.

June 17 - Sierra

Old Airport to Become Large Urban Campground

An old disused airport in Brooklyn will be converted into an urban campground, expanding from its current 5 campsites to more than 600.

June 17 - Inhabitat

Busy L.A. Street to get Bus-Only Lane

The Los Angeles City Council has approved a 7.7-mile bus-only lane on one of the city's busiest thoroughfares.

June 17 - Los Angeles Times

Cooperation and the Evolutionary Biology of the City as Organism

Evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson is trying to understand how natural selection works at various levels. His new lab: the city of Binghamton, New York.

June 17 - Nature

Does Climate Change Transcend Partisan Politics?

A Yale University survey yielded a surprising result: climate change policy is becoming less polarizing among Americans of different political affiliations.

June 17 - D.C. Streesblog

Which is the Real Culprit, Growth or Cars?

Jeff Wood of Reconnecting America interviewed a variety of thought leaders at the recent Congress for the New Urbanism. In this video, he talks with Jeff Tumlin about getting Santa Monica, California to embrace growth.

June 16 - Reconnecting America

USGBC Sued Over LEED Certification

Henry Gifford, an energy-efficient building expert in NYC, challenges the LEED certification standards in an acrimonious lawsuit against the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

June 16 - Miller-McCune

The Ponzi Scheme that Created the Suburbs

Charles Marohn explains how cities and towns failed to consider the future expense of expanded infrastructure to new suburban developments.

June 16 - New Urban Network

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