The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Columnist Steve Berg thinks Minneapolis must be having an identity crisis. What else would explain the city seriously considering putting a casino downtown?

May 9 - The Minneapolis Post

A group of urban designers and architects descends on the ur-suburbia of Levittown. Alison Arieff writes that the urban academics doodled in the margins rather than serious tackle the issues raised by the suburban way of life.

May 9 - The New York Times

The 4-year-old Informed Growth Act required large retail stores in Maine to go through an extra hoop to analyze their potential adverse impact on the community. The Maine House repealed the act last week.

May 9 - The Morning Sentinel

In a surprise move, the California High-Speed Rail Authority is resurrecting a long-dead proposal to run the train over So Cal's Grapevine, bypassing Bakersfield and several desert towns.

May 9 - The Los Angeles Times

Greg Flisram reports on a unique 50s era suburban development in Madison, Wisconsin that has an unusual early design that is modest in size and sensitive to the environment.

May 9 - Metropolis Magazine

Urban planner James Rojas takes his public participation concept to Avondale, Arizona, encouraging people to be part of the urban design process through pipe cleaners, Legos and Tinkertoys.

May 9 - The Arizona Republic

Joel Kotkin says that despite the fashion for density among urban planners, the future relies on "dispersion" and focusing on developing small and mid-range cities.

May 8 - New Geography

A draft is circulating within the Beltway showing the president's transportation reauthorization bill. High Speed Rail is in, as is a 'Livability Program'. Goodby Highway Trust Fund - Hello Transportation Fund.

May 8 - D.C. Streetsblog

Zeppelin technologists have cracked one of the central barriers towards widespread use: the difficulty of staying bouyant while moving forward in a straight line.

May 8 - Popular Science

Cities of all population sizes were ranked by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. Key to top-rated Seattle was its management of parking. 19 cities were cited from throughout the country.

May 8 - The Atlantic Magazine

<em>Zillow</em> has created a list of the top ten places in America for single moms to live, based on five metrics including women's earning rates, violent crime rates and walk scores.

May 8 - Zillow

Does having more density in a city means more people to pay property taxes, and thus, less of a tax burden on residents? Sam Newberg and a colleague run the numbers.

May 7 - Joe Urban

Cities are becoming smarter, as buildings and infrastructures become retrofitted with sensory technology. The question this raises is how this will change our perception of the public sphere, according to Martijn de Waal.

May 7 - The Mobile City

The city of Los Angeles is attempting to sue Deutsche Bank, the owner of thousands of foreclosed and blighted homes in the city. If it works, other cities could follow.

May 7 - Marketplace

<em>Urban Omnibus</em> ventures into the New York City Department of Transportation's Traffic Management Center to find out how technology is changing the way the city manages its traffic signals and traffic flows.

May 7 - Urban Omnibus

A new public plaza is being built in Washington D.C., and this rundown from <em>The Dirt</em> highlights its people-focused design.

May 7 - THE DIRT

Architecture critic Christopher Hume writes an homage to urban planning icon Jane Jacobs, highlighting the resiliency of her positions on density and diversity.

May 6 - Toronto Star

Richey Piiparinen argues that Americans don't necessarily want sprawl, but they are driven by unconscious motives, fears and hopes that haven't been properly dealt with yet.

May 6 - Rustwire.com

"...and maybe America," added Gov. Christie. The building in question is Xanadu, a brightly-colord mall that was scheduled to open in 2007 and with almost $2 billion spent ran into financing problems. New investment may turn the project around.

May 6 - The Record

A proposal to build a casino in downtown Minneapolis has locals and lawmakers wondering if it's a good deal for the city. The governor wants more than the suggested 25% take of revenues, but others say even that is not worthwhile.

May 6 - Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune