The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A decision on whether or not to swap potentially oil-rich, protected land in the Yukon Flats with private wetlands will not be reached for another year. Appraisals will be underway to determine whether or not the controversial trade is fair.

September 10 - Anchorage Daily News

Seven years on, the site of the former World Trade Center remains largely barren. However, despite delays and claims of over-budgeting, the Port Authority says new development at Ground Zero s expected to finish on schedule.

September 10 - The Guardian

The future of getting around may lie in personal rapid transit, or the "podcar." Catherine Burke highlights the system's reported safety and cost-effectiveness.

September 10 - The Los Angeles Times

Luanda, Angola has brushed past Tokyo and London to be the world's most expensive city, and slums cover much of the city's prime real estate.

September 10 - The Globe and Mail

A wildly popular New York burger stand is expanding to a second location, and many residents worry that the stand's long lines will move into their neighborhood.

September 10 - The New York Times

New funds have already been allocated to public transit agencies, but unexpected increases in ridership have called for even more. The funds come as part of a new energy bill intended to reduce foreign oil dependence.

September 10 - The Wall Street Journal

At a recent bipartisan panel on public transportation and energy policy sponsored by the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, panelists made the Conservative case for urban density and public transit investments.

September 9 - The American Prospect

BLOG POST

<p style="text-align: justify" class="MsoNormal"> <span><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--></span> </p> <p style="text-align: justify" class="MsoNormal"> <span><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--></span> </p> <p class="MsoBodyText"> <span>Blogs are emerging as important information sources in the contemporary discourse on cities and city planning. <br /> </span> </p>

September 9 - Michael Dudley

Greg Beato enumerates how American bike-sharing programs fall short of their Parisian counterparts. Until the program evolves some more, the autonomy afforded by the private car or bicycle will continue to prevail.

September 9 - Reason Online

Decades of massive hydrologic engineering have altered California's ecology out of equilibrium and will be unable to support present demands, warns Rachel Olivieri.

September 9 - AlterNet

An Albany newspaper takes a look at cycling in the Capital District: cycling is up, and advocacy groups are working to take advantage of it.

September 9 - Metroland

Jeff Patterson thinks the future will look less like your auto-oriented 7-11 and more like "transit station marketplaces".

September 9 - Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal

New TNDs are springing up all around Houston, including three new projects designed by Andres Duany.

September 9 - The Houston Chronicle

Taxpayers, not transit users, will bail out motorists to keep the highway trust fund solvent. The administration had initially proposed to use transit funds and veto using general funds, but with the fund scheduled to go bust in Oct., they relented.

September 9 - Los Angeles Times via San Francisco Chronicle

Safety codes recommended by NIST after analyzing the collapse of the World Trade Center are being challenged by another federal agency on the grounds they will be too costly.

September 9 - The New York Times

By enlisting the help of concerned local citizens, researchers are getting better documentation of the locations of potentially polluting industrial land uses near residential areas.

September 9 - The Los Angeles Times

Michael George of Golden State Water Company makes an impassioned plea for leadership from Sacramento as the state’s deepening water supply crisis gets lost in another budget battle.

September 9 - The Planning Report

The battle over development continues in Dharavi, the largest slum in India. Its valuable location in Mumbai has had developers' mouths watering for years, but residents have resisted their drive to demolish and rebuild the slum.

September 8 - The Los Angeles Times

The government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will likely bring lower interest rates, but tighter eligibility requirements and stricter monitoring of underwriting.

September 8 - CNN

A recent study shows that about 60% of all trips into the urban core of Vancouver are not by car.

September 8 - The Vancouver Sun