The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
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).
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.
New Housing Starts Reveal Shift Toward Multi-Family Housing Construction
AP reports on the Anderson Forecast from UCLA that looks into CA's housing slump and shows two distinct markets, one on the rise and the other (single-family housing) falling.
Bike-Sharing Is Safer Than Riding Your Own Bike
In city after city, cyclists are hit, injured, and killed less often when using bike-sharing than when riding their personal bicycles.
Why is it Taking So Long to Replace the Tappan Zee?
The Tappan Zee Bridge, which crosses the Hudson, is falling apart at the seams. So why is it taking so long to repair?
The Truth About Energy Efficiency
The truth is, it works: a new report shows that energy efficiency standards placed on utilities result in less demand and greater savings.
The Next Sadik-Khan?
Rahm Emmanuel's latest appointee is transportation secretary Gabe Klein, who, columnist John Hilkevitch writes, "...promises to shake things up here."
Clashing Strategies for Preserving Historic Community
Hannibal Square in Winter Park, Florida has a long history as an African-American community, dating back to the 19th century. Today, a community land trust, a redevelopment agency and other groups are approaching the community with different goals.
Megaprojects Approved in San Francisco
Two major redevelopment projects - Treasure Island and Parkmerced - have been approved after a lengthy process by San Francisco's Board of Supervisors.
National Trust Picks Most Endangered Places for 2011
The National Trust for Historic Preservation releases a list each year highlighting their Top 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. This year's list includes buttes, hospitals, forts, alleys and John Coltrane's home in Dix Hills, New York.
Rust Belt Mayors Are Greening Brownfields
With the unlikely help of a group called the Mayors Automotive Coalition, down-at-the-heels towns are reinventing themselves - in various shades of green.
Density, Closer to the Ground
Vancouver, Canada, famous for its dense downtown development, is changing tack slightly with a transit corridor from downtown to the airport, bringing building heights down mostly to 4 to 12 stories.
Tribal Peoples Get Energy Audit
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians recently got advice from a sustainability consultant on ways the tribe could cut their energy use be more sustainable.
Jan Gehl on Safety
Want to prevent crime and keep people safe in traffic? Jan Gehl says the solution is to mix up pedestrians, bikes and cars into "shared spaces."
Tear Down the Freeway, Or Fix It Up?
That's the dilemma with Interstate 81 in Syracuse, NY, an elevated freeway that cuts through the center of the city. At the end of its life expectancy, planners are debating its fate.
A Call for More Pedestrian-Only Streets
Jay Walljasper says U.S. cities are greatly lacking in pedestrian-only shopping districts, and points to their success in Europe as a model.
Breaking out of the Single-Family Home "Box"
An editorial from John McManus at Big Builder Online says that the downturn in the economy is pushing developers to break out of the single-family housing box and experiment with mixed-use.
The "Trivial Profession" of Urban Planning
In the new book of essays Reconsidering Jane Jacobs, Thomas J. Campanella says that noteworthy to practicing planners in 2011 is the final essay by Thomas J. Campanella wonders if urban planning is at risk of becoming trivial.
Louisville, KY Confronts Obesity From All Angles
A grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has Louisville thinking differently. "...it's not just about smart growth, it’s not just about transportation, it's not just about parks or better nutrition, it’s about all of those things and more."
Learning From Sweden: Green Cars Don't Reduce Emissions
Despite having the world's most energy efficient, least polluting auto fleet, greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector continue to rise in Sweden.
Municipality of Princeton
Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
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