The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

While Gov. Walker's rejection of $810 million of federal stimulus funds for the Milwaukee-Madison rail upgrade has received much publicity, he has not ruled out using funds to upgrade the existing Milwaukee-Chicago Hiawatha Line pushed by businesses.

January 19 - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Three California schools are seeking to quantify the effects of efficiency-conscious driving in a study to establish a baseline for drivers' behavior.

January 19 - TheCityFix

Officials in Ogden, Utah are considering a plan to launch an unmanned blimp to monitor the city from crime at night.

January 19 - Reuters

This piece from <em>Next American City</em> looks at plans to dramatically rework streetscapes in Boston, and cheers the effort.

January 19 - Next American City

As states return money aimed at high speed rail projects, officials from North Carolina are hoping to scramble up some of this newly available funding to augment existing projects.

January 19 - News and Observer

An art competition in Salt Lake City has resulted in a new installation to be built in one of the city's vacant lots.

January 19 - The Salt Lake Tribune

Writing for <em>Metropolis</em>, Karrie Jacobs bemoans America's slow pace of growth in transportation infrastructure, and blasts efforts as being too "incremental".

January 18 - Metropolis

With political pressure from both sides of the aisle palpable, Gov. Christie discusses how he analyzed and justified the ARC tunnel's cancellation.

January 18 - The Wall Street Journal

No, this is not a video of Petula Clark, but do take her message to heart. Rats are not just on the subway tracks - occasionally they hop a ride too, so riders beware - stay awake! Caught on tape...

January 18 - NY1/You-Tube

The city of Detroit is considering a plan to close nearly half of its public schools and greatly increase its class sizes.

January 18 - The Detroit News

Rome has instituted a new tax on tourists aimed at building a fund to restore its crumbling infrastructure. But some worry it will drive tourists away.

January 18 - Der Spiegel

The City of New Orleans is about to undertake a massive reconstruction effort that will reshape and rebuild its entire school system.

January 18 - Metropolis

The city of Pittsburgh is making progress on its first comprehensive plan. <em>Next American City</em> talks with Director of City Planning Noor Ismail about its process and potential impact.

January 18 - Next American City

Sprawl is seen as an unfortunate reality in Toronto, and one that some fear it's too late to unwrite.

January 18 - The Toronto Star

British Prime Minister David Cameron wants to build a Silicon Valley-like "tech city" at the site of the 2012 Summer Olympics. But some question whether his plan can work.

January 18 - Wired UK

As the world's population urbanizes, rural areas are being abandoned. But they don't have to sit empty and unused, according to this piece from <em>GOOD</em>.

January 18 - Good

BLOG POST

<p style="margin-top: 6pt" class="MsoNormal">I spent last week at the <a href="http://www.adb.org/">Asian Development Bank</a> (ADB) headquarters in Manila, in the Philippines, where we are starting on an exciting but humbling project: developing a more comprehensive framework for transport project evaluation. Among other factors, this project will develop better methods for incorporating <a href="http://www.vtpi.org/equity.pdf">social equity</a> impacts into transport planning. This is important in any community, and particularly in developing countries where many people are extremely poor. What transport policies and planning practices respond to their needs?</p>

January 17 - Todd Litman

BLOG POST

<p><span><span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The internet has great potential as a means of professional marketing for many soon-to-be and recent graduates. Not everyone in planning, however, uses it well. The following tips aim to help you realize its potential and avoid its pitfalls.</span></span></span><span><span style="font-size: small; font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span> </p>

January 17 - Ann Forsyth

An art gallery in New York City currently has an installation called Park Here, which is an indoor parkspace made up of fake grass, trees and sunlight.

January 17 - The New York Times

Hybrid technology for marine transportation is a growing industry, as startup business in New Brunswick, Canada attests.

January 17 - New Brunswick Business Journal