The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Lego Living: Shipping Containers Become Affordable Housing
<p>A developer in New Jersey is looking to shipping containers as building blocks for affordable housing.</p>
The Housing Bubble as a Social Phenomenon
<p>In this excerpt from his forthcoming book, Subprime Solution, economist Robert J. Shiller writes of our tendency to succumb to "bubble thinking," and the role this has played in the current mortgage crisis.</p>
BLOG POST
Learning from exam schools
<p> Yesterday’s Washington Post contained <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/23/AR2008062300297.html?hpid=news-col-blog">a list of elite public schools</a>- schools where the average student SAT is over 1300. Since suburban schools generally have better reputations than urban schools, one might expect that all the schools on the list would be in prestigious suburban school districts. But in fact, this is not the case. Three New York City schools (Stuyvestant, Hunter College, Bronx High) and one school near downtown Richmond (Maggie Walker) are on the high-SAT list- despite the fact that the New York City and Richmond school districts, like nearly all urban school districts, have mediocre reputations. </p>
Despite Streetcar Skeleton, Chicago Leans Towards BRT
<p>Transit officials in Chicago are calling on the city to rebuild its historic streetcar system. Rails still exist on many streets, but city officials are leaning away from streetcars and towards bus rapid transit.</p>
One Blight Down, One To Go
<p>In this op-ed piece, Kevin C. Phelan and Yanni Tsipis argue that Boston's 'Big Dig' has only fought half the battle, calling for a more proactive approach to building over the city's other auto sewer, the Massachusetts Turnpike.</p>
St. Louis Comes Back
<p>Despite predictions that the city was dying, St. Louis has just won an "All-America City" award. Neal Peirce looks at how the city turned itself around.</p>
Airport Easements Cause Uproar
<p>A new airport overlay district in Sioux Falls, South Dakota has nearby homeowners crying 'taking!' Airport officials say, 'All we're trying to do is make sure we have good neighbors.'</p>
Presidential Candidate Calls on Mayors to Embrace Urban Growth
<p>Building a strong country is reliant on strong urban regions, according to Senator Barack Obama, who recently spoke with a conference of U.S. mayors about the importance of urban growth. Federal funding, however, will be limited, he said.</p>
New Orleans Streets Updated
<p>This story from <em>NPR</em> looks at a new bike lane in New Orleans, and other efforts the city is taking to update its street infrastructure.</p>
The Changing Skyline of Beijing
<p>A new building by Rem Koolhaas in Beijing is part of a wave of modern construction that is changing the tightly-planned urban fabric of the Chinese capital.</p>
San FranYuppyland?
<p>San Francisco's rapid loss of low and middle-income residents is taking a toll on the city's social fabric.</p>
Traffic Signs Driving Us to Distraction
<p>Traffic signs on American roadways are so numerous and so distracting to drivers that they are having the opposite effect intended, writes John Staddon.</p>
Why Isn't Our Campus Downtown?
<p>Bruce Fisher laments Buffalo's decades-old decision to put their university campus outside of town, missing the lesson that "eds and meds" are central to the prosperity of a city.</p>
Pawnshops 'Inundated', But Facing Hard Times
<p>With gas and food prices climbing to unprecedented levels, many families are turning to pawnshops to cover their bills. Unfortunately, pickups are down and people aren't buying, putting smaller operations at risk of closure.</p>
Zoning Squashes Wedding Plans
<p>Heather Stewart's vision of a country wedding in a resorted country barn are thwarted by code enforcement officers at the last minute. 'We have zoning rules and building codes that always get in the way of dreams,' Reinsborough said.</p>
Hate Your Long-Distance Commute? Then Move
<p>A recent L.A. Times series suggests that we should build more Southern California freeways for long-distance commuters, and prevent additional job development in employment-heavy areas. Bill Fulton suggests a different approach.</p>
FEATURE
Scooting in a City Built for Cars
Rising gas prices and thickening traffic congestion make small, fuel-efficient scooters seem like a great way to get around. But on roads built mainly for speeding cars, scooting can be scary. Occasional scooter-rider Pam Diaz argues it shouldn't be.
Of Cyclepaths and Psychopaths
<p>Cyclists Bill Reynolds muses on the freedom offered by the bicycle -- and the tragic tendency for cyclists to fall victim to automobiles.</p>
New Cruise Ship Will Have Its Own 'Central Park'
<p>Royal Caribbean is building the world's largest cruise ship, which will be a city in its own right with seven different neighborhoods and a central public space/urban park.</p>
Learning from Arlington
<p>Columnist Roger K. Lewis reflects on Arlington's Rosslyn-Ballston corridor and what other cities can learn from their success.</p>
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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