The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

This interview with Walter Hook, director of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, probes the merits of Bus Rapid Transit versus subways and light rail. The first of four installments.

February 25 - Streetsblog

Over a hundred boxcars have sat for about a year in an Indiana hamlet, proving to be the biggest nuisance to those who, live, and play near them. Of no use to railroad companies with nothing to ship, such rail cars now sit idle all over the country.

February 25 - The Wall Street Journal

California's Central Valley is one of the top agricultural sites in the world, but with low rainfall and cut-off irrigation supplies, farming towns and their citizens may face at least one tough year ahead.

February 25 - The New York Times

Masdar City, the elaborate and ambitious planned green development in Abu Dhabi, is slowing coming into shape. This piece from <em>Technology Review</em> looks at how the city's development could inform the future of citybuilding.

February 25 - Technology Review

The planning adviser on London Mayor Boris Johnson's staff has his eyes on the future of the city, and the architectural legacy he hopes to establish.

February 25 - Building

New green building projects aimed at low-income residents are popping up across the country, and federal stimulus money is helping.

February 25 - Time

As climate change takes the form of higher sea levels and environmental disasters, millions of "ecomigrants" across the world have been on the move to find more environmentally habitable places.

February 24 - The Washington Post

In 2007, the PA legislature passed Act 44 that calls for converting Interstate 80 into a tolled facility. A freshman PA Congressman, continuing in his predecessor's footsteps, introduced a bill to ensure that never occurs.

February 24 - theNewspaper.com: A Journal of the Politics of Driving

The 2008 Summer Olympics brought a boom of construction to host city Beijing. But now, six months later, much of the office space built in the lead up to the games sits empty -- and likely will for years.

February 24 - Los Angeles Times

In this piece from <em>Metropolis</em>, Andrew Blum looks at how America's infrastructural philosophy is evolving from "repair" to "renew".

February 24 - Metropolis

Population growth estimates foresee the equivalent of an additional 15 Seattles concentrating in the Pacific Northwest over the next one hundred years. How the region handles this growth is up for debate, but with a distinct sense of urgency.

February 24 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

In his first foreign trip, President Obama will meet with Canadian PM Harper to discuss, amongst other topics, the environmental impact of mining Alberta's oil sands.

February 24 - The Washington Post

Residents in Venice, Italy, are upset over a plan by the city to accept a $2.7 million subsidy from Coca Cola in exchange for placement of soda machines throughout the historic city.

February 24 - BBC

As the trend towards urban living grows, churches are rethinking how to approach the urban and religious. This article from a Baptist newspaper suggests that the faithful have been reading and absorbing Richard Florida.

February 24 - The Baptist Standard

The global economic downturn is hitting China's urban factories. Millions of migrant workers who had left their farms for factory work are now facing the possibility of making an urban-to-rural migration.

February 24 - The Globe and Mail

Towns and small cities dependent on one or two industries are reeling in the face of the economic downturn and major budget cuts. Can the nation's large cities be far behind?

February 24 - TomDispatch

Catherine Tumber writes in defense of the small city, long neglected in policy and revitalization, but poised to be an excellent resource for sustainable living.

February 23 - Boston Review

FEATURE

Managing Editor Tim Halbur selects his favorite books for designing and planning public spaces.

February 23 - Tim Halbur

A look inside the real slum featured in the movie "Slumdog Millionaire". The film won 8 Oscars including Best Picture.

February 23 - The New York Times

An architecture student's entry in a design contest sponsored by BMW proposes a new form of living space, utilizing new synthetic skins to build flexible living areas.

February 23 - The Boston Globe