The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

New York City's second annual Sustainable Streets Index adds a wealth of data in support of green transportation and street safety.

March 26 - Streetsblog

Les Leopold warns that the recession and budget shortfalls at the state and local level are combining with intense "anti-government" rhetoric to justify the gutting and privatizing of public services.

March 26 - Huffington Post

The results from HUD's first study on the costs of services to the homeless finds that securing and subsidizing rental housing for the homeless is more cost-effective than emergency homeless shelters.

March 26 - Houston Chronicle

NY DOT head Janette Sadik-Kahn spoke in Los Angeles earlier this week to a adoring crowd, with advice on how to make room for bikes and pedestrians.

March 26 - The Los Angeles Times

With Gov. Schwarzenegger promising $200 million in tax credits to homebuyers, Paul Shigley says it's worth looking closely at the promises that such credits create new jobs and bolster the economy.

March 26 - California Planning & Development Report

Cornell computer scientists used a supercomputer to analyze nearly 35 million Flickr photographs and determine which cities and landmarks were the most photographed. New York, London and San Francisco come out on top.

March 26 - Cornell

Montgomery County officials have approved plans to build an extensive new transit-oriented neighborhood at the area around the White Flint Metro stop in North Bethesda, Maryland. The plan is one of the largest in the D.C. area since the 1950s.

March 26 - The Washington Post

The land underneath a Toronto highway overpass will be converted into a neighborhood park. Officials hope it will spark the revival of one of the city's underused waterfront neighborhoods.

March 26 - Daily Commercial News and Construction Record

Through a survey of New York City taxis with GPS tracking devices, the city has created a database of speeds and routes that gives them a clear picture of the state of traffic in the city.

March 26 - The New York Times

Detroit may have been the Motor City, but New York City was where the car became king, according to a new book and exhibit which look at the history of the automobile in New York in the early 1900s.

March 26 - The New York Times

This post from <em>NRDC</em>'s Kaid benfield compares the two Florida cities of Lehigh Acres and Venice, where land use decisions created one city doomed to fail and another that's on a fast rise.

March 25 - NRDC Switchboard

In response to the threats of peak oil and climate change, thousands of people around the world are engaging in local "Transition" initiatives to promote resilience and "reskilling" to prepare for the expected "energy descent."

March 25 - AlterNet

Architect Gertrude Kerbis worked for sixty years designing buildings in Chicago alongside more famous architects like Walter Gropius and Mies Van der Rohe. Preservation Magazine talks to her about her struggles as a woman in a male-dominated field.

March 25 - Preservation Magazine

<em>Urban Omnibus</em> takes a look at a new website that maps out places in the U.S. with low return rates for Census surveys.

March 25 - Urban Omnibus

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing recently delivered his first "state of the city" speech since taking office, and included a broad list of proposals that could bring about a widespread revisioning of the struggling city.

March 25 - The Detroit News

The city of Portland is moving ahead with a $47 million shelter and services project known as the Resource Access Center. It's the largest efforts underway to solve the city's notorious homelessness problem.

March 25 - The New York Times

The NYT examines problems with Florida's high speed rail line that received $1.25 billion in HSR stimulus funds. In addition to weak transit connections at both ends, the 84-mile route has five stops, increasing the total trip time.

March 25 - The New York Times - U.S.

<em>Governing</em>'s Stephen Goldsmith looks at the trend of smart phone applications related to city governance and civic improvement. He sees huge potential in these early stages of a trend that's likely to experience exponential growth.

March 25 - Governing

Digital billboards with flashing and changing images are being outlawed in cities across the country.

March 25 - USA Today

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently wrote on his blog that bicyclists would no longer be overlooked by federal transportation policy. <em>National Journal</em> asks its panel of experts whether cars and bikes should be treated equally.

March 25 - National Journal