The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>This article from the <em>LA Weekly</em> looks at efforts by the city planning department and key politicians to increase the density of the city.</p>

February 29 - LA Weekly

<p>Randal O'Toole believes that in the search for blame for the mortgage and credit crisis, an obvious candidate is being overlooked: city planners.</p>

February 29 - Cato @ Liberty

<p>Historic homes in the Brooklyn Navy Yard have blighted the neighborhood for years. Many residents are backing a plan to replace the deteriorating homes with a market, but preservationists are hesitant.</p>

February 29 - The New York Times

<p>The largest estuary in the West, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, has been in trouble for many years. Yet policy-makers have been unable or unwilling to undertake major projects. That may change in 2008.</p>

February 29 - California Planning & Development Report

<p>A new report from a non-profit, non-partisan California think tank finds that immigrants, both legal and undocumented, have lower rates of incarceration and criminal activity in California than the U.S.-born population.</p>

February 29 - San Jose Mercury News

<p>Nearly 100 million American households have tended a garden or lawn since 2005, a significant increase from years past. According to estimates, much of the rise is due to younger adults getting out in their gardens.</p>

February 29 - Publishers Weekly

<p>Business leaders in Indianapolis are looking to replicate the success of Portland, Oregon, by creating a task force to pursue plans for a streetcar system in the city's downtown.</p>

February 29 - Indianapolis Business Journal

<p>The Downcity neighborhood of Providence is undergoing an urban revitalization, one hinged on preservation and renovation of historic buildings.</p>

February 28 - The New York Times

<p>Prince Charles has initiated an effort to build the world's first "trim town" -- a city form that aims to improve the health of its residents by creating walkable environments.</p>

February 28 - Scotland on Sunday

<p>Universities are embracing their interrelationships with their cities, sparking a flurry of university-led urban development projects.</p>

February 28 - The Wall Street Journal

<p>Business leaders in New York have proposed declaring Harlem's 125th Street as historic zone in an effort to stop gentrification in the area.</p>

February 28 - The New York Times

<p>A coalition of civil rights groups are concerned that the plans to redesign Washington D.C.'s National Mall will spatially restrict free speech and public protests, a charge the National Park Service rejects.</p>

February 28 - AlterNet

<p>Plans to convert major arteries to one-way streets in L.A. are meeting tough criticism. Many say the city needs to rethink what mobility should mean, but others say L.A. isn't ready for such a paradigm shift.</p>

February 28 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>Lawmakers in Idaho have proposed a bill that seeks to limit urban renewal district abuses.</p>

February 28 - Idaho Business Review

<p>Due to the relaxation of FAA height limits, downtown Miami may see its ever-changing skyline rise even higher.</p>

February 28 - The Miami Herald

<p>Filmmaker Danny Schechter reflects on the extent of America's debt crisis, and wonders if we need something like the Oscars to help name and identify those responsible.</p>

February 28 - Common Dreams

<p>If a group of bipartisan governors from some of the nation's largest states have their way, the $168 billion economic stimulus package will include $30 billion to repair the nation's infrastructure, including road, rail, and bridges.</p>

February 28 - The San Francisco Chronicle

<p>A proposal to make Eugene, Oregon's bus system fare-free has been voted down by the regional transit district.</p>

February 28 - The Register-Guard

BLOG POST

<p> Every city has blight – the unsightly, derelict, abandoned, disheveled, and under-utilized spaces of our urban areas. It drains the life out of neighborhoods, drives down the values of surrounding properties, and just looks really bad. So what do cities do about it? Some seize it through eminent domain for redevelopment and others offer incentives to developers to replace it with something better. Many of them, though, don’t do anything at all. But removing blight from a city is not impossible, and it doesn’t have to be an elaborate multi-party scheme or a drawn-out political process. It can be as simple as a coat of paint.<br />

February 27 - Nate Berg

<p>The city of San Francisco is considering a proposal to require most new commercial and residential buildings to comply with the green building standard LEED.</p>

February 27 - The Christian Science Monitor