The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Houston Mayor Annise Parker is considering a big shake-up of the city's public transportation, including the option of transitioning to a fare-free system.

February 11 - The Houston Chronicle

With water in increasing demand and unsustainable land use patterns threatening supplies, a new report claims that nearly 40% of the earth's surface is arid and in danger of desertification.

February 11 - Science Daily

This post from IBM's <em>A Smarter Planet</em> blog looks at how advanced monitoring techniques and analytics are helping to improve the management of sewage and wastewater in cities like Sacramento and Dubuque.

February 11 - A Smarter Planet

The winner of the SHIFTboston Ideas Competition is a proposal to turn the unused Tremont Street Subway tunnel under Boston Common into a network of underground cultural venues.

February 11 - Metropolis Magazine

The Obama administration has cancelled two Federal programs - Save America's Treasures and Preserve America - that were responsible for the restoration of nearly 900 historic structures over the past 10 years.

February 11 - Treehugger

Huffington Post offers a slide show of finalists in the 2010 Michelin Challenge to come up with the electric cars of the future. The radical designs include unicycles, rolling spheres and designs based on flying fish.

February 11 - Huffington Post

This piece from <em>Urban Re:Vision Magazine</em> looks at a variety of water reuse and stormwater capture projects in cities across the U.S.

February 11 - Urban Re:Vision

FEATURE

February 11 - Tim Halbur

With Congress mired in the health care debate, legislation critical to rebuilding communities, such as ACES and the reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Bill, languish. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) details the political climate in D.C.

February 10 - The Planning Report

The CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority details the feast or famine of transportation planning in Southern California in 2010: budgets are being slashed while a new sales tax and federal stimulus go online.

February 10 - The Planning Report

A local Council in Scotland is considering convening a Citizens Panel to consider the next round of difficult cuts to local budgets. This opinion piece debates whether public involvement is a value-added, or if it just slows down decisionmaking.

February 10 - The Inverness Courier

BLOG POST

<p class="ecxMsoNormal"> A decade or so ago, after reading some of Jane Jacobs’ work, I became aware of the distinction between mixed-use and single-use neighborhoods.<span>  </span>In those days, I imagined that in a well-functioning urban neighborhood, every non-polluting use would be mixed together, and the lion of housing would lay down with the lamb of commerce. </p>

February 10 - Michael Lewyn

<em>The Tyee</em> talks with former Vancouver Mayor and British Columbia Premier Mike Harcourt, who argues that the investment to host the 2010 Winter Olympics are worthwhile.

February 10 - The Tyee

Officials in Lagos, Nigeria, are calling for the city's successful bus rapid transit system to be expanded to other cities throughout the country.

February 10 - Daily Champion

BLOG POST

<p> The Winter Olympics will begin later this week in Vancouver, British Columbia. Like other hosts of such large-scale sporting events, the city has been getting ready for the international spotlight for many years. To hear more about what&#39;s been going on in the city in terms of urban planning, I interviewed Vancouver Planning Director Brent Toderian, and you can <a href="http://places.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=12693" title="Places - The Olympics and the City">read a transcript of that Q&amp;A on Places</a>. </p>

February 10 - Nate Berg

Kyla Fullenwider offer ten simple ideas to improve the livability of your block.

February 10 - Good

Over the last decade, infrastructure went from the realm of policy wonks to the front pages. the Alex Marshall argues that this bodes well for infrastructure in the future.

February 10 - Regional Plan Association

Wind energy could generate two-thirds of the electricity people in Maryland currently use according to a new report funded by the Abell Foundation. It calls for installation of 2900 turbines far enough offshore so landlubbers can't see them.

February 10 - Baltimore Sun

PBS documents Detroit's attempts to overcome its history as "the Motor City" to create new ways of getting people around. Transit advocates play a big part in this preview, which includes renderings of projected transit options.

February 10 - PBS

Shanghai is preparing to host the 2010 World Expo -- an event that's costing more than $45 billion. While officials hope the event will be a boon for tourism, locals question whether the investment will pay off.

February 10 - NPR