The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Starting with a tony 5-floor, 7,500 square foot townhouse on the Upper East Side, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has quietly bought 4 of the 6 neighboring townhouse apartments and combined them into what is now a 12,500 square foot mansion.

February 27 - New York Times

Wyoming Valley Mall in Wilkes-Barre, PA is fighting to stay relevant to shoppers by bringing in local retailers, updating the design with an $8 million makeover, and bringing in more restaurants and theaters.

February 27 - The Wall St. Journal

This piece from <em>Reason</em> looks at a land dispute in Colorado between ranchers and the U.S. Army, which wants to add more than 400,000 acres to a 245,000 acre training and testing site.

February 27 - Reason

Major office and retail projects are adding new life to Cape Town's central business district. Though much investment centers around South Africa's 2010 World Cup, many expect the CBD investments to continue for years.

February 27 - iAfrica

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced plans to close off parts of Broadway in Manhattan to car traffic. The city will experiment with the closing as early as May, creating a large pedestrian zone near Times Square.

February 26 - The New York Times

A local TV host will be one of the first to take advantage of Vancouver's new 'laneway housing' pilot project (allowing 'granny units' in backyards of traditional city neighborhoods). The project is facing some controversy.

February 26 - The Vancouver Courier

Some organizations believe they hold the key to fighting poverty--economic development in the inner cities, which will in turn bring in private investment. But others maintain that both are hard to come by simultaneously.

February 26 - Miller-McCune

BLOG POST

<p> Community Development Work Avoidance </p> <p> Local government across the nation is knee deep in the work of figuring how to do with less.  No community is immune from the challenges posed by reduced sales and property tax revenue and the constant if not increasing demand for services.  Invariably, and appropriately, locating the proper balance between the two becomes a matter of setting priorities.  And to do that, criteria are needed to rationalize why one municipal activity should be funded, but not another.  It was ever thus, of course.

February 26 - Charles Buki

The American Trucking Associations is preparing to focus their upcoming annual meeting on advocacy, promoting their agenda on the TEA-21 Transportation Reauthorization bill to Congress and the Obama administration.

February 26 - Transport Topics Online

Although denser is inherently greener, cities whose populations boom have their own set of challenges regarding sustainability. According to this article, achieving a balance between urban and rural growth is the most sustainable way to go.

February 26 - Crosscut

BLOG POST

<p> On this week&#39;s <a href="http://www.kunstlercast.com/">KunstlerCast</a> (James Howard Kunstler&#39;s podcast, with host Duncan Crary), you can hear me leaving a comment. I just listened to the episode, and I sound like I took a shot of codeine cough syrup before recording it. I think the point is relevant enough to reiterate in the safety of print. </p>

February 26 - Tim Halbur

Transportation reporter Tom Belden of the Philadelphia Daily ponders how and where the $8 billion in stimulus funds allotted to high-speed rail should be spent, referencing a report by the Progressive Policy Institute.

February 26 - Philadelphia Daily

Kent Kammerer asserts that by jumping too quickly on a TOD bandwagon that stresses density, local municipalities may leave out elements of social infrastructure and adequate services--the real driving forces behind successful, walkable areas.

February 26 - Cross

As stimulus money trickles down to states, many worry the best laid plans for spending it will devolve into a frantic money grab among municipalities. But, according to this piece from Mark Muro, there are signs of order at the metropolitan level.

February 26 - Citiwire

New legislation is expected to seek greater federal control over the siting of electrical transmission lines, a move lawmakers hope will ease the creation of a "smart" electricity grid.

February 26 - Grist

John King of the San Francisco Chronicle trumpets the work of Bridge Housing in increasing the availability of quality affordable housing in the Bay Area. But is it enough? New studies say affordable housing is an uphill battle.

February 26 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco's Market Street is heavily used by buses, cars, cyclists, and pedestrians alike. Officials are studying the potential effect of restricting cars either partially or completely, to make it "great once again."

February 25 - The San Francisco Chronicle

BLOG POST

<p> In much of the United States, day-to-day transit service is under assault as never before; state and local treasuries have been depleted by the recession, and the federal stimulus package is unlikely to be helpful because federal dollars are more likely to flow into capital programs (English translation: shiny new railcars) than into preserving existing service (1). Thus, Americans will have the worst of both worlds: billions thrown at transportation while existing bus routes get whittled away. </p>

February 25 - Michael Lewyn

If the government bails out banks, it also better put aside money for structural reform that ensures the proper valuation of property. According to Elena Panaritis, a housing market driven by speculation catalyzed the recession in the first place.

February 25 - Guardian

Funding in the federal stimulus package for high speed rail has been cheered by transit advocates across the country. This opinion piece argues that in addition, funds should be taken away from the auto industry.

February 25 - The Boston Globe