The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Columnist Dan Walters looks at issues coming before California voters this November that could revise the traditional "American Dream" within the state -- or undo efforts to change it.

July 7 - Fresno Bee

This feature from <em>New York</em> magazine looks at the increasingly attractive option of introducing more bus rapid transit lines into New York City.

July 6 - New York

2,300 auto dealerships have closed in the U.S. since 2009. 649 of those have been redeveloped, becoming lumberyards, schools, chain drug stores, and groceries.

July 6 - The New York Times

In the aftermath of a brief power blackout that basically shut down large parts of Toronto, Marcus Gee ponders the vulnerability of modern cities and their "pathetic" dependence on electricity.

July 6 - The Globe and Mail

A Queens 16-year-old teamed up with a Brooklyn entrepreneur to save the route after turned down by state legislators. The route was among three dozen others eliminated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as austerity measures on June 26.

July 6 - New York Daily News

Naming Richard Florida, Carol Coletta and ULI as pro-urban forces, Joel Kotkin accuses them of having "wishful thinking" in regards to the back-to-the-city movement. Kotkin says people want single-family homes, not condos.

July 6 - The Wall St. Journal

Student Anthony Lau put together a not-so-fantastical proposal to redevelop retired ships and platforms in the Thames River into new communities.

July 6 - BLDGBLG

The Washington Post's Ezra Klein suggests readers watch this 20-minute TED video featuring Georgia Tech's Ellen Dunham Jones, author of "Retrofitting Suburbia." Jones talks to the importance of making suburbs greener by retrofitting to urbanize them.

July 6 - Washington Post: Ezra Klein

Officials in London have announced a plan to link the city's 2012 Olympics venues through a system of cable cars.

July 6 - Guardian

Once a major part of cities transportation networks, streetcars have over the last half a century devolved into mere tourist attractions and novelties. But the pendulum may be swinging back.

July 6 - Governing

Designing the city of the future has long been the playground of architects and planners. A New York non-profit design group led by architect Mitchell Joachim keeps that tradition alive.

July 6 - Guardian

With the global urban population on the rise and cities expected to become densely populated mega-cities, automakers are trying to design cars for future cities.

July 5 - The New York Times

Small town movie theaters are seeing new interest from community members who are fighting -- and volunteering -- to keep them open.

July 5 - The New York Times

Cities are falling over themselves to try to convince basketball superstar Lebron James that he should pick their NBA franchise as his new team.

July 5 - Next American City

The UC Berkeley Institute of Transportation Studies has issued a report questioning ridership projections on the $43+ billion, 800 mile, voter-approved California High Speed Rail project. Cambridge Systematics defends their numbers.

July 5 - San Francisco Chronicle

Two little girls were attacked by coyotes in Rye, New York in the last 8 days, causing concern, bafflement and a full-scale panic in the suburban town.

July 5 - The New York Times

FEATURE

Officials in Santa Fe have announced plans to demolish an amphitheater designed by architect Paolo Soleri, the visionary behind the as-yet-unfinished Arcosanti project. David Licata says it deserves to be saved.

July 5 - David Licata

BLOG POST

<p> <span style="color: black"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small"><span style="color: black"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small">Planners are quick to criticize roads and highway investments for the vast sums spent to build, operate and maintain them, often questioning the value of these subsidies. Recently, on a planning list-serve, these subsidies were labeled an “external cost” of automobiles, but they are not.

July 4 - Samuel Staley

Joel Kotkin reports that the from Dallas to Des Moines and Bismark, the urban areas of the Great Plains states has seen steady growth thanks to energy, agriculture and high-tech jobs.

July 4 - New Geography

British officials are looking to help their efforts to curb carbon emissions by capping growth on airport runways that they say encourage "binge flying".

July 4 - The New York Times