The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The iconic Philip Johnson-designed fountain in front of New York's Lincoln Center is getting a makeover. The new fountain has some preservationists peeved.

August 27 - The New York Times

Architecture and biomimicry are joining forces. A new city being planned in a flood-prone region of India is using the concept of mimicking nature to build a city that better responds to its environmental conditions.

August 27 - Harvard Magazine

Unstructured play is a mainstay of childhood. But dense urban areas offer fewer opportunities for free-form playtime, writes Alex Marshall. Kids have to take what they can get, and often it's not much more than an empty parking lot.

August 27 - Regional Plan Association

FEATURE

The future of architecture is in its expression as city structure, not just as buildings, and in its self-conscious ecological awareness, says architect Richard Register.

August 27 - Richard Register

Farmers in the Monterey Bay area of California have been feeding their artichoke plants with recycled urban wastewater. And they've been doing it safely for years.

August 27 - Miller-McCune

Energy consultant Michael Lynch argues that there are upwards of 10 trillion barrels of oil out there, as opposed to the 2 trillion that peak oil proponents recognize.

August 26 - New York Times

Dr. Ming Zhang of the University of Texas at Austin says that Asian cities, despite their density, have a lot to learn from Western transit-oriented development practices.

August 26 - Reconnecting America

Seeking federal stimulus dollars for its own set of "shovel ready" projects, Maryland submitted an application to the Federal government for $360 million to improve its passenger rail system.

August 26 - The Baltimore Sun

Historic downtowns in Israel are struggling against the growing tide of suburban American-style shopping malls that are developing on the outskirts of town.

August 26 - Tablet

Construction is underway on Saadiyat Island. The atoll off the coast of Abu Dhabi is seen by developers as a new artistic oasis in the middle east. But some question whether the plan will pay off.

August 26 - Telegraph

BLOG POST

<p> <span><span style="font-size: x-small">One reason why buses are less popular than trains is buses&#39; lack of &quot;legibility</span></span><span><span style="font-size: x-small">&quot;</span></span><span><span style="font-size: x-small">: the ability of an occasional passenger to figure out how to get somewhere by bus. While subway or light rail passengers can look at a system map (which is usually present on a station wall) and figure out that a train to destination X shall arrive at their station reasonably soon, bus passengers typically have to invest time in getting schedules, and then pray that the schedule has not changed.<br /> </span></span> </p>

August 26 - Michael Lewyn

<em>Smithsonian</em> explores micronations, tiny utopian city-states that strike out on their own - whether or not their current government recognizes their independence.

August 26 - Smithsonian

Small scale hydroelectricity projects are popping up all over the country, especially in remote and environmentally sensitive places.

August 26 - The Wall Street Journal

Plant life is taking over the abandoned houses of Detroit. These photos from James D. Griffioen offer a tour.

August 26 - Sweet Juniper

Samoa is readying itself for a countrywide transition that is shaking up the island country's roughly 200,000 people. Beginning September 7th, Samoans will be required to drive on the left side of the road.

August 26 - The Wall Street Journal

The ailing auto industry has many manufacturers in the Midwest transitioning to the renewable energy market, opening factories to build wind turbine parts and solar panels.

August 26 - The Christian Science Monitor

BLOG POST

<p> &nbsp; </p> <p> In 1979, the City of San Diego launched a plan to steer new development into the craftsman-lined neighborhoods close to downtown.   The idea was sound:  scatter higher density housing throughout existing smart growth communities. 

August 25 - Diana DeRubertis

HUD has established new rules limiting the percentage of units in a building that can get FHA loans. Developers cry foul, calling it a bias against affordable housing and density.

August 25 - San Diego Business Journal

The goal is to increase California's use of clean, renewable sources of electricity so as to meet the state's climate protection goal. Two bills are being debated that will require that 33% of electricity sources be composed of renewables by 2020.

August 25 - The Sacramento Bee

An online publisher set out to show that urban farming could be profitable. In her fourth year, she brought in $68k from her half-acre plot in Philadelphia.

August 25 - Governing Magazine