The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The recently passed House climate bill only dedicates 1 percent of funding to public transportation projects. Some are arguing that needs to be increased when the bill heads to the Senate.

July 9 - The Washington Independent

As the city of Charleston, SC works to develop a plan to guide future development along the eastern end of Calhoun Street from Marion Square to the SC Aquarium, preservationists express concerns about possible new guidelines.

July 9 - The Post & Courier

The NRDC reveals the most sustainable large, medium and small cities in the U.S., after an extensive evaluation based on air quality, energy production and conservation, environmental standards, recycling and many more criteria.

July 9 - Smarter Cities

BLOG POST

<p> Everybody knows that most, if not all, of downtown businesses&#39; customers arrive by car.  So it&#39;s intuitive to try to come up with a way to encourage drivers - who normally wouldn&#39;t venture downtown - to hop into their rides and cruise on down to Main Street to shop for wares.  If we could do this, just think of all the new business we&#39;d be stimulating!  In continuing with this logic, it&#39;s also a given that it&#39;s impossible for would-be customers to actually get to downtown without the essential <em>attaché</em> to driving, gasoline.  So, isn&#39;t it therefore intuitive to suggest that if cities were to give away a little bit of gas to each customer – you know, to kind-of thank them for their generosity - then customers would find an overwhelming incentiv

July 8 - Ian Sacs

The committee convened a hearing on Monday on green investments in public transportation, and Streetsblog got the scoop. It was 4 against 1 as witnesses sided against Randal O'Toole and his anti-transit arguments.

July 8 - Streetsblog

An announcement by India that it won't reduce its carbon emissions is sure to capture the attention of climate treaty and energy legislation opponents in the Congress.

July 8 - Bloomberg News

As part of an art exhibition about housing, artist Damon Rich used the Panorama of the City of New York- a 9,000 sq. ft. model- to illustrate the foreclosure crisis.

July 8 - The New York Times

The Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans was deluged in the post-Katrina flooding. Today, a new community emerges with traditional renovations living side-by side with unique contemporary buildings.

July 8 - The Times-Picayune

The City of Chula Vista has a highly successful anti-blight ordinance- so successful that some critics say they may actually be delaying the recovery of the local real estate market.

July 8 - San Diego Union-Tribune

Economic improvement projects funded by the stimulus are moving full steam ahead -- in France.

July 8 - The New York Times

<em>The Infrastructurist</em> offers four case studies of cities that have removed highways. The result: less congestion.

July 8 - The Infrastructurist

A new application for iPhones seeks to make it easier for Boston residents to report minor nuisances like potholes and busted street lights.

July 8 - The Boston Globe

The Nakagin Capsule Tower, designed in Tokyo in 1972 as part of the Japanese Metabolism movement in architecture, is facing destruction. Residents of the building have voted to demolish it and replace it with a modern structure.

July 8 - The New York Times

Roundabouts, usually considered a quirky European development, can reduce delays at intersections by 20%, according to studies by Kansas State University.

July 8 - Project For Public Spaces

BLOG POST

<p> A few weeks ago, I read an online comment suggesting that unnamed &quot;planners&quot; displayed no interest in suburbia, single-family housing or family life, and instead are only interested in improving downtown neighborhoods for single people. If by &quot;planners&quot; the author of this comment meant new urbanists or critics of the sprawl status quo, this claim is simply incorrect. </p> <p> Over the past month, I have visited half a dozen new urbanist developments in Dallas and Denver (1). All of these developments have a few things in common: all include both retail and residential uses, and all strive for walkability by providing sidewalks and narrow, gridded streets. But the developments differ in two other respects: geography and housing type. </p>

July 7 - Michael Lewyn

Charles Komanoff, an economist, analyst and activist in New York, has created an elaborate spreadsheet looking at the cost of congestion to the city. His conclusion? Free transit and congestion pricing would relieve traffic.

July 7 - Reuters Blogs

The New Economics Foundation's "Happy Planet Index" shows that Costa Ricans use fewer resources and lead happier lives than the rest of the world.

July 7 - Guardian (UK)

Niles, Michigan has managed to build jobs and add businesses to its Main Street over the past five years. How did they do it? Wayne Senville of the Planning Commissioners Journal stopped by on his tour around the U.S.A.

July 7 - Planning Commissioners Journal

The 1909 Plan of Chicago is widely credited to Daniel Burnham. But Burnham's right-hand-man, Edward Bennett not only played a big role in writing the plan, he also helped put it into action.

July 7 - Chicago Tribune

Some have grumbled at the Obama Administration's recently-announced standards for light bulbs. But changing industry standards for lighting would have no small effect, says Mark Muro of Brookings.

July 7 - The New Republic