The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

While the scale and extent of the oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico are still unknown, the potential damage could mean a severe blow to the Gulf's $234 billion economy.

May 30 - CNN Money

Millions of American homeowners are underwater facing the loss of their home, causing devastating effects on the national and local economy. But when a homeowner decides to walk away from his or her home, is that a sign of crisis or a shrewd move?

May 29 - McClatchy Newspapers via Fresno Bee

Southern California's Metrolink has a new CEO, and he's implementing smart cost-cutting right off the bat, like policies that get drivers to stop idling their buses.

May 29 - LAist

The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced the availability of $600 million in new funding for surface transportation projects.

May 29 - US Department of Transportation

Residents of Birmingham, Alabama are rallying against a drive-through Chick-fil-A going up in their neighborhood, showing a growing awareness of the effect of development on the character of their community.

May 29 - The Birmingham News

Nissan Leafs, that is, and only for the year, though not one of these 19,000 preorders for the all-electric, plug-in car has yet to be shipped. The Leafs shouldn't venture too far from home - the range is 100 miles on a full charge.

May 29 - The New York Times - Business Day

Russian Leonid Murlyanchik has been building his own subway system underneath his neighborhood since 1984. He intends to run cars through it that will carry 3-4 persons each.

May 28 - English Russia

Writing in the Guardian, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders argues against offshore drilling and in favor of dramatic increases in energy efficiencies and investments in renewables.

May 28 - Guardian (UK)

A private company, working with the City Council of Nairobi, sells advertising space to fund streetlights in the city. Smart public/private partnership, or intrusion of advertising on public spaces?

May 28 - Next American City

Don't call them granny flats or inlaw units! These are separate units that can only be built on lots of 4,000 sq. ft. minimum. Only 50 have been built or permitted since the trial began in 2006. The goal is to bring affordabllity to SFH neighborhoods

May 28 - USA Today

John Shirey, executive director of the California Redevelopment Association, talks about the recent court ruling that allowed California to take $2 billion in redevelopment from local municipalities, leaving hundreds of projects at risk.

May 28 - The Planning Report

Lebanon, Kansas is the true middle of the contiguous United States. Photographer J. Bennett Fitts is documenting this Middle America, a town that has lost a lot of population over the years.

May 28 - GOOD Magazine

A coalition of social welfare organizations in Ontario is preparing a legal case compelling the federal and Ontario governments to provide affordable housing as a human right.

May 28 - The Globe and Mail

With fruit prices way down, some farmers in British Columbia are taking their fields out of production and renting them out as RV parks. The government in Kelowna, BC, is not happy.

May 28 - The Globe and Mail

State governments in the U.S. are radically rethinking how they work. With tight budgets and little sign of improvement anytime soon, big ideas are bubbling. But few have been put in motion.

May 28 - The New York Times

As South Africa prepares to host the soccer World Cup, questions remain about whether the estimated $6 billion investment will be worth it. Some say those questions won't be answered for years.

May 28 - Sports Illustrated

Like Daniel Burnham's famous Chicago plan, a bold plan for Columbus, Ohio has been proposed by the Columbus Downtown Development Corp. The plan, developed by consultant MSI Design, hearkens back to turn-of-the-century city plans that went unrealized.

May 27 - The Columbus Dispatch

Pennsylvania's roads, bridges, transit, and water infrastructure received near-failing grades according to a American Society of Civil Engineers' "2010 Report Card for Pennsylvania's Infrastructure" and the DOT rebuffed the state's tolling solution.

May 27 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Former Interior secretary Bruce Babbitt believes that the federal government needs to create a new agency to do the planning necessary to prepare the coastline for rising waters due to climate change.

May 27 - Lincoln Institute of Land Policy blog

A 30-story residential building will be at the core of a transit-oriented development project at Canada Line's Marine Drive Station in Vancouver.

May 27 - The Vancouver Sun