The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The $700 billion bailout bill includes federal tax benefits for people who commute by bike.

October 11 - The San Francisco Chronicle

As new design requirements come in at a late stage, bridge planners in Portland are trying to nail down a design for the new light rail bridge that is affordable, appropriate and beautiful. But the beauty aspect may fall to economics.

October 11 - The Oregonian

A stray cat born and raised at a Japanese train station has been named its official stationmaster -- and become a tourist attraction that's successfully boosted the local economy by more than $10 million.

October 10 - AFP

Park planners from Denmark recently toured some of New York's parks and found much to be jealous of.

October 10 - The New York Times

A battle is brewing in Utah over a Senate bill that banned voters from overturning land use decisions, and the power plant that is the first significant land use to be impacted by the law.

October 10 - The Salt Lake Tribune

A feasibility study released last week shows that a 141 mile transit system could be built on existing right-of-ways in the Triangle for $1 billion, a fraction of the proposed budget for transit in the region through 2035.

October 10 - The News Observer

Writing from the Connected Urban Development conference in Amsterdam, reporter Scott Smith says that "the sustainable future will be a networked future."

October 10 - WorldChanging

As many as 65% of foster care kids in Utah end up homeless and on the streets. A youth commission in Salt Lake County is proposing a new sort of housing project to help young adults as they age out of the foster care system.

October 10 - The Salt Lake Tribune

Professor Richard Morill of the University of Washington maps population growth over the past seven years, which shows a continuing pattern of movement towards large metropolitan regions.

October 10 - newgeography

A new study shows that noise pollution on the streets of San Francisco is putting nearly one in six residents at risk for heart disease, high blood pressure and other stress-related illnesses.

October 10 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Some 12 million households now owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, leading economists to worry that foreclosures will continue to rise.

October 10 - MSNBC

The media's inattention to Hurricane Ike has hidden its devastating impacts on infrastructure and the environment, as well as a poor response on the part of the federal government.

October 10 - Brattleboro Reformer

Around Los Angeles' Skid Row, vertical farms have been installed on walls. Its project leaders note that it not only promotes locally grown foods, but it also beautifies areas that "would otherwise just be concrete and steel."

October 10 - Architectural Record

BLOG POST

<p> <span><span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">One of Vancouver&#39;s most recent significant planning exercises is noteworthy not simply because of the merits of its process or its resulting planning and design vision, but perhaps more so because of the new model it may represent to North American mall owners.</span></span></span><span><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Trebuchet MS"> </span></span> </p> <p> <span><span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">But I&#39;ll come back to that. </span></span></span><span><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Trebuchet MS"> </span></span> </p>

October 9 - Brent Toderian

Spain's booming construction industry was fuelled by immigrant workers, who were encouraged to come to Spain. The economic crisis has now stalled many of those construction projects.

October 9 - Globe and Mail

Media analysts and economists are confused about presidential candidate John McCain's proposed "Homeownership Resurgence Plan," which would see Washington spend up to $300 billion to become a "lender of last resort."

October 9 - Globe and Mail

Upon gaining the presidency, Senator McCain would make the federal government spend part of its bailout money on bad home mortgages, allowing homeowners to stay put and make payments that reflect their homes' lessened values.

October 9 - Newsweek

A proposal to turn part of a 6,000-hectare copper mine into a landfill has just been given the green light for an environmental assessment. The garbage dump would bury 250,000 metric tons of garbage from 25 local communities annually.

October 9 - The Globe and Mail

BLOG POST

<p> That&#39;s what some guy said to me late last night as I waited for my tacos at a typically busy taco truck. He was talking about our Los Angeles neighborhood, Echo Park, which was recently named by the American Planning Association as one of the &quot;<a href="http://www.planning.org/greatplaces/index.htm" target="_blank" title="APA's Great Neighborhoods List">10 Great Neighborhoods of 2008</a>&quot;. It&#39;s a nice honor for the &#39;hood -- and I think they&#39;re right -- but I&#39;m with that random taco dude: don&#39;t tell my landlord.<br />

October 9 - Nate Berg

A new master-planned development in Whistler blends housing types, keeping in mind its local workers, full-time residents, and seniors. Most notably, however, it provides much needed affordable housing options.

October 9 - The Vancouver Sun