The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
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A Word from the New Managing Editor
It's a unique time to be joining the staff of Planetizen as managing editor. The world seems to be awakening for the first time to all of the issues we deal with everyday, whether we work in urban and regional planning, environmental preservation, architecture and placemaking, landscape architecture or transportation. Suddenly, everyone understands that these niches are, in fact, interconnected, and that "place" as a general concept affects everything we do. Unfortunately, it took $4.85 gasoline and a mortgage crisis that is sinking our economy, but at least people are thinking! <br />
Amtrak in the Spotlight
<p>The much-maligned rail system is being reconsidered, as gas prices and environmental awareness send people looking for solutions. But can Amtrak step up to the plate?</p>
Are Automated Public Toilets A Fiasco?
<p>Seattle is closing the lid on a disappointing experiment with public toilets after spending $5 million dollars to install them. Cities from Boston to San Francisco have had mixed results with automated toilets, The New York Times reports.</p>
EPA Criticizes Oregon Bridge Planners for Ignoring Sprawl
<p>Federal regulators have criticized planners of a bridge expansion for not considering how the new bridge would induce sprawl and increase pollution.</p>
Building a 'Frybrid'
<p>Students at Petoskey High School in Michigan are building the first “frybrid” -- a grease-powered hybrid -- in Northern Michigan.</p>
Miamians Protest $3 Billion Mega-Plan
<p>The City of Miami is pushing a new 'mega-plan' that rolls a stadium, tunnel, public park, trolley system, and bailout into one $3 billion dollar deal. Miamians, including local car dealer Norman Braman, are pushing back.</p>
State Burns Up Over Counties' Growth Policies
<p>When you live near raging wildfires, you begin to understand why the State of California spends nearly $1 billion a year on firefighting. You also start to see why some state lawmakers say it's time for more local responsibility.</p>
Water Supplies May Not Be Enough for Growing Chicago
<p>More than 2 million people are expected to be added to the metropolitan Chicago region by 2030, and water supplies may not be able to keep up. Officials are trying to find a solution.</p>
Beach Access Blocked By Homeowners
<p>A $5 million project on Long Beach Island to restore the eroding beachfront is stymied by homeowners who don't want to allow easements through their property.</p>
Nearly 200 New Jersey Mayors Oppose Affordable Housing Rules
<p>Almost 200 New Jersey mayors have joined together to oppose new affordable housing requirements that they say their cities can't possibly comply with.</p>
Evictions Continue As Beijing Prepares for Olympics
<p>With less than a month left before the start of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, residents in the Chinese metropolis are still being evicted to make way for event-related construction.</p>
Cities Struggling to Meet Surging Transit Use
<p>An informal survey by APTA says that cities across the U.S., cities are experiences surging transit use in all modes. Transit agencies are expanding every way they can, but face budget shortfalls.</p>
Fighting Foreclosure Blight With Demolition
<p>As foreclosures increase throughout the country, more cities are looking to solve the problem of abandoned and dilapidated houses with demolition.</p>
Brewer Sale Worries St. Louis Residents
<p>St. Louis is a Budweiser town. But the recent announcement that brewer Anheuser-Busch had been bought out by a Belgian brewer has many in the city worried about the future of their most famous and most unifying resident.</p>
New Crematory Evades City Planners
<p>City officials in Snellville, near Atlanta, claim they cannot stop the pending arrival of a new crematorium along a busy street and near homes.</p>
Cairo's Downfall
<p>Downtown Cairo has undergone a steady decline in recent years, with more slums developing and more beggars filling the streets. This article from <em>Bloomberg</em> says there are many reasons for the decline.</p>
Segway Squad
<p>Following a series of Segway pilot tests in other Canadian cities, the town of Sylvan Lake Alberta is loosening up laws restricting them the space age vehicles to private property.</p>
Should Nuclear Reactor Be A National Landmark?
<p>The B Reactor at the decommissioned Hanford Nuclear Site in Washington State is up to become a national landmark for its role in producing uranium for The Manhattan Project.</p>
New Anchor For New Orleans
<p>New Orleans officials say they have enough grants and private funds to move forward on a "Great Lawn" park for the city, functioning as a gathering place and a link to other attractions.</p>
Electricity and Rail Can Solve Our Energy Woes
<p>Writer Benjamin J. Turon argues that we aren't in an energy crisis as much as a transportation crisis, and that we already have all the technology we need.</p>
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie
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