The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>For the first time since 1945, home equity rates in the U.S. have dropped to below 50% -- figures that could worsen if home prices continue to drop.</p>

March 7 - CNN Money

<p>Gentrification of one of Vancouver's low-cost neighborhoods in pushing immigrant populations out of the city.</p>

March 7 - The Vancouver Sun

<p>By utilizing virtual reality software, students at UC Berkeley are recreating a historic stretch of Oakland, California's 7th Street, a historic hotbed of jazz and blues clubs during the 1940s and '50s.</p>

March 7 - UC Berkeley

<p>More than 142,000 parking permits have been issued by the city of New York for public employees, enabling free parking all over the city. Critics blame the high number of permits for clogging the city's streets.</p>

March 7 - The New York Times

<p>With a focus on public spaces, Flint, Michigan, is looking to revitalize itself.</p>

March 7 - Making Places

<p>Plans to convert one of San Francisco's public housing projects into market rate housing has resulted in dozens of evictions, and more are expected.</p>

March 7 - The San Francisco Chronicle

<p>New Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker has followed through on campaign promises to begin an overhaul of the city's planning department, handing out a series of firings in an effort to revitalize and streamline the city's planning process.</p>

March 7 - The Salt Lake Tribune

<p>The city of Melbourne, Australia, is on track to surpass Sydney as the country's most populated. But the expected population growth may push the city into a sprawling and unsustainable future.</p>

March 7 - The Age

<p>Local opposition to McMansions in suburban Seattle was prevalent long before arsonists burned down three luxury homes this week. But those opposed to so-called "rural cluster development" housing worry the criminal acts may work against their goals.</p>

March 6 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

<p>Economic recession and soaring gas prices have resulted in the largest, demand-induced, sustained decline in gas consumption in 16 years. Motorists are reacting to the higher prices and weaker economy in their vehicle selection and driving behavior.</p>

March 6 - The Wall Street Journal

<p>New York has become a concentration of the super-wealthy, and soaring real estate values are driving out supermarkets. Will street vendors be able to fill the gap?</p>

March 6 - AlterNet

<p>Officials in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler are rallying behind proposals to increase density in the city, arguing that the urban shift will make the city more vibrant.</p>

March 6 - The Arizona Republic

<p>By using telephone and voice over IP calling data, a team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has created detailed maps of calls between New York and other major world cities, painting a vivid picture of globalization.</p>

March 6 - MIT News

<p>Portland city officials are warming up to the idea that jobs are key to sustainable cities, and have proposed a plan to try to lure sustainable businesses to the city.</p>

March 6 - The Portland Tribune

<p>This editorial from <em>The New York Times</em> argues that the city's public transportation system needs congestion pricing to stay alive.</p>

March 6 - The New York Times

<p>Researchers in Japan have created a live model of the so-called "shockwave" theory to explain traffic congestion.</p>

March 6 - New Scientist

<p>The Project for Public Spaces offers this checklist to help determine if your city is a "great" city.</p>

March 6 - Making Places

FEATURE

The new continuing education program set up by the American Planning Association's American Institute of Certified Planners is an unfair system that will prevent AICP-certified planners from getting affordable, high-quality education.

March 6 - Nate Berg

<p>With increasing congestion and freeways built out just about as far as they can go, transportation planners in the San Francisco Bay Area are considering plans to put on-ramp metering lights on many of the area's most congested stretches of freeway.</p>

March 6 - The Contra Costa Times

<p>Idaho policymakers must make necessary investments and attract talent to succeed, according to a new report.</p>

March 5 - Idaho Business Review