The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Researchers have developed a new technology to sense the acoustic conditions that indicate oncoming landslides.

December 1 - IEEE Spectrum

This episode of public radio program <em>99% Invisible</em> looks at oil, and how the way people move from work to home has been seemingly designed to waste fuel.

December 1 - 99% Invisible

Washington D.C.'s Metro is expecting a major increase in ridership over the next 30 years. To try to meet that demand, they're recruiting ideas from the public with a new outreach effort.

December 1 - The City Fix

Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome housing design is a popular form of housing at the temporary festival Burning Man. But why hasn't a good idea caught on in the mainstream?

December 1 - Good

Jungles blasted clear during the Vietnam war four decades ago are now at the center of a debate in the country about how forests should be recovered.

December 1 - Yale Environment 360

Kevin Richardson came up with a fanciful idea for rewarding good drivers while punishing bad ones: speed cameras could ticket speeders, the money would go into a pot, and good drivers would be selected randomly by the camera to win big money.

November 30 - Volkswagen

Local property taxes are often levied disproportionately on multifamily developers, resulting in higher taxes for apartment-dwellers, says Stephen Smith.

November 30 - Market Urbanism

A new study shows that three qualities - social offerings, openness, and beauty - strengthen residents' level of community attachment more than other urban variables, and that passion for place may be a leading indicator of local economic growth.

November 30 - New Urban Network

Developers are building more and more residential communities around organic farms, banking on increased resident demand for locally grown food, outdoor recreation space, and small-town charm.

November 30 - The Los Angeles Times

Officials in Los Angeles are considering a plan to install a bus-only lane on the region's most used commuter route. But neighbors along a small segment of the road are fighting the proposal.

November 30 - Los Angeles Times

Nicolai Ouroussoff, architecture critic for <em>The New York Times</em>, offers this lengthy look at the state of development and design in Abu Dhabi and Doha.

November 30 - The New York Times

Architect Peter Weingarten discusses the importance of high-rise buildings, and why the future of cities will be very high density.

November 30 - Gensler on Cities

The fate of a proposed high speed rail corridor between Chicago and Milwaukee remains uncertain, but if plans do go ahead, Madison may be left out.

November 30 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

With a collective population of more than 10 million, Kenya's slums face major sanitation issues. A new project offers a sustainable solution.

November 30 - Gizmag

BLOG POST

<p>It is often - and very inaccurately - said that people hate change.  When people get married - they are overjoyed.  When they hold the winning lottery ticket, or have children or get a raise or a promotion or a new car, they are thrilled.  These are forms of change that illustrate the point that change is not what people hate; what people have trouble with is certain forms of change.  This becomes especially relevant to planners and designers and community developers who are part of processes - shaping, facilitating, leading, participating in, or otherwise advocating for one form of change or another.</p>

November 30 - Charles Buki

Atlanta's $72 million streetcar plan is taking shape, with lines expected to open in 2013. But not everyone in the city thinks the project is worth the cost.

November 30 - Los Angeles Times

Warren Karlenzig is back from two recent visits to China, and says the Chinese government is preparing to release a hugely ambitious agenda for getting greener.

November 29 - Green Flow

Bike-sharing can't seem to shake its reputation for being a crime magnet, as in Paris. But here in the United States, theft and vandalism simply haven't emerged as problems, says Noah Kazis.

November 29 - Streetsblog

As urban sprawl continues to encroach on what was once expansive habitat for mountain lions, the large predators have been involved in more encounters with humans in urban settings.

November 29 - The San Francisco Chronicle

As Seattle prepares to undertake several major construction projects, the city should embrace and explore its buried archaeological past as a means to involve community members and spark interest in local history, argues Knute Berger.

November 29 - Crosscut