The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A study conducted in Illinois has found no correlation between rates of obesity to suburban sprawl, as was previously believed.

February 10 - US News

With the challenges facing American cities of tight budgets and lost revenues, Major Bing openly asks how to shrink the size of Detroit and makes an open call for plans, concepts, and strategies to save the failing city.

February 10 - Washington Post

Peter Calthorpe, author of "Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change," speaks about his new book and the role of landscape architecture and new urbanism in the twenty-first century.

February 10 - THE DIRT

As demographics shift and housing preferences of younger buyers lean away from single-family housing, much of the single-family-home-zoned areas in Charlotte will need to be rethought, according to this editorial.

February 10 - The Charlotte Observer

One woman in Lansing, Michigan has started a walking mission to explore and document every stretch of street in her city -- a total of more than 400 miles.

February 10 - Lansing State Journal

Urban designer David Green talks with Anthony Lyons, Director of the city of Gainesville's Community Redevelopment Agency, about his successes in the city and how other cities can become more livable.

February 10 - Fast Co. Design

FEATURE

Athens, Greece has all the elements of good urbanism - density, diversity, destinations, distance (to transit) and design. So is Athens a poster child for good urbanism? Fanis Grammenos takes an in-depth look.

February 10 - Fanis Grammenos

Agricultural spaces are increasingly being included in housing developments.

February 10 - Landscape Architecture Magazine

In Japan, owners of vacant space can rent them out by the hour, day or week to people who need them for temporary purposes thanks to a new website.

February 10 - Japan Today

The city of Burnaby, near Vancouver, may soon approve a proposed gondola line connecting university students to rest of city.

February 10 - The Vancouver Sun

Daily pedestrian trips in Vancouver, Canada are at 318,000, while bike trips are at 60,000. So why do bikes have a committee and pedestrians don't? City planners are rectifying that situation now, with a new focus on walkers.

February 10 - The Vancouver Courier

BLOG POST

<span style="border-collapse: separate; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium; font-family: Times; color: #000000" class="Apple-style-span"> <div style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10px; background-color: #ffffff"> <p> To hear my mother tell it, I gave Joe Biden the idea for high-speed rail. Charitable and glowing, yes, but isn’t that what mothers are for?  </p> <p> All the same, I can’t help but glow a bit anyway when I think about how far we’ve come as a country in embracing high-speed rail.  </p>

February 9 - Jeffrey Barg

The Obama Administration is moving ahead with its plans for a national high-speed rail system after opposition on the part of some conservative lawmakers backfired.

February 9 - Huffington Post

More details of the winning design are unveiled for the planned remodeling of the Gateway Arch Park in St. Louis, MO.

February 9 - STLtoday.com

After the backlash of suburban development in the 80s and 90s, “supermarket-led development” in town centers remain a contentious issue in Britain.

February 9 - New Urban Network

US Department of Housing and Urban Development sees diverse crop of applicants for $100 million in grants going towards community development projects adhering to livability principles.

February 9 - Metropolis

As the city of Los Angeles's budget faces deep cuts, money to pay for the upkeep of the city's iconic Watts Towers folk art installation has dried up. But a museum is stepping in to try to keep the Towers alive.

February 9 - The New York Times

More than 2 years after it expired, the federal transportation bill is likely to be reauthorized soon, according to Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

February 9 - Reuters

Long-held plans for a new bridge over the Columbia River between Portland and Vancouver, Washington, have been thrown out by a panel of experts who have suggested cheaper alternatives.

February 9 - The Oregonian

San Francisco will host the America's Cup yacht race in 2013. Some in the city argue that the event could provide a good opportunity for the city to make major investments in projects that last long after the event.

February 9 - Streetsblog San Francisco