The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The federal government is rewriting the way it defines poverty. As a result, city poverty levels are expected to see major shifts.

March 4 - NPR

This piece from <em>Shareable</em> looks at the urban work of Enrique Penalosa and how it emphasizes the importance of happiness in cities.

March 4 - Shareable

Warren Karlenzig delves into the unique challenges of reducing carbon in cities, where efforts may be misplaced. Should your city focus on green building, traffic emissions or water treatment?

March 4 - Common Current

While the basis of last week's ruling is a 7-acre property, the decision temporarily opens the door for all agriculturally zoned properties in the county to be subdivided into 1-acre parcels.

March 4 - Richmond Times-Dispatch

FEATURE

March 4 - Alison Bates

Bill Fulton takes a rational approach to determining whether California's strict environmental regulations are a burdensome expense to business or if they drive them to innovate and succeed.

March 3 - Governing Magazine

An art group called Fallen Fruit promotes the idea of public fruit trees for general consumption by all. But on a trip to Madrid to plant trees, the government refused their intervention, saying that trees were architecture for the city, not food.

March 3 - GOOD Magazine

The temple of Luxor is a must-see on the Egyptian tourism route, and city officials are clearing homes of locals out of the way to uncover an ancient parade route. Locals say the government is creating an excuse to clear low-income residents.

March 3 - Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS)

In Orange, California, city codes require that front yards be 40% landscaping. After considerately adding drought-resistant plants and bark to save water, the city sued an Orange couple.

March 3 - www.latimes.com

St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial board formally endorses the removal of elevated and depressed lanes of current I-70 ROW to reconnect city and arch grounds.

March 3 - St. Louis Post Dispatch

Gallup looks at the body mass index of American cities to see which metro areas are the most overweight. Flint, Michigan and Stockton, California come out on top.

March 3 - Gallup

It's an idea being used in Idaho and other areas with heavy energy use at peak times like midday air conditioning: energy companies are paying people to power down during max loads.

March 3 - The New York Times

That's what citizen groups are calling digital billboards, saying they area a safety hazard for distracting drivers. States around the country are grappling with how to regulate the glowing signs.

March 3 - The New York Times

The public library is being re-imagined as an interactive space with multimedia learning labs, coffee shops and government services.

March 3 - Miller-McCune

The leading architect and urban planner from the Philippines is calling on the city of Manila to take stronger precautions in the face of earthquakes and other natural disasters.

March 3 - Philippine Daily Inquirer

BLOG POST

<p> A few weeks back, I had a meeting at the University of Southern California&#39;s campus. It was a moderately nice day by Los Angeles standards, which in other parts of the country would equate to the best day of the year weather-wise. As I walked among the brick buildings, I was impressed by the number of bicycles parked willy-nilly around the grounds. </p> <p> <img src="/files/u20704/cruisers_at_USC.gif" alt="Cruiser bikes on the USC Campus." title="Cruiser bikes on the USC Campus." width="301" height="226" /> </p>

March 2 - Tim Halbur

Builders can't get credit but they may get jobs from banks, who, because of foreclosures, have unfinished homes that they need help completing.

March 2 - Wall Street Journal

NY's Dept. of Transportation has released pictures of a planned separated bus route on 34th St., which would be a first for the city.

March 2 - Streetsblog

BLOG POST

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small">As the housing market collapsed and gasoline prices spiked in 2007, many planners may have read Cornell University law professor Eduardo Penalver’s essay in the </span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small">Washington Post</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small"> with more than a little satisfaction.

March 2 - Samuel Staley

The desire to create walkable neighborhoods is alive in cities around the U.S., but the recession has made it difficult or impossible to follow through.

March 2 - Washington Examiner