The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

BLOG POST

<p><strong>Rethinking College Park</strong> </p><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rethinkcollegepark/389600607/" title="Route 1 by RethinkCollegePark, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/144/389600607_46aace7f11_m.jpg" alt="Route 1" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="240" height="180" align="right" /></a>Is College Park, Maryland a great college town? Although the town is home to a top-ranked national research university that is one of the largest employers in the state of Maryland, the town pales in comparison with the nation&#39;s best-liked college towns, whether Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ithaca, New York, or Charlottesville, Virginia. In this post I describe <a href="http://rethinkcollegepark.net/blog/">one attempt</a> to use the internet to improve an aspiring college town. </p>

February 14 - Robert Goodspeed

<p>Cities across the country scramble to deal with abandoned properties as they drive down local economies.</p>

February 14 - The Baltimore Sun

<p>California officials are proposing a broad swath of protected marine areas -- a plan that aims to reduce fishing and allow marine populations to flourish longer before being caught for consumption.</p>

February 14 - The Sacramento Bee

<p>The U.S. Treasury and HUD have announced a new program called Project Lifeline, to help at-risk mortgage holders.</p>

February 14 - Associated Press

<p>This <em>CBS News</em> video interviews passengers, as they are working, aboard Amtrak's Acela between NYC and Washington DC. New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg who has proposed legislation, and Amtrak CEO Alexander Kummant are also interviewed.</p>

February 14 - CBS News

<p>Israel's announced construction of more than 1,000 housing units in disputed East Jerusalem is being met with a hostile response from Palestinian officials, who claim the land as the future capital of an independent Palestine.</p>

February 13 - Associated Press

<p>A 138-acre plot of land above L.A.'s iconic Hollywood sign is up for sale. Many in L.A. are protesting the sale, which could lead to the development of luxury homes on the site.</p>

February 13 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>Lake Mead -- a major water source for the western United States -- could go dry by 2021, according to a new report.</p>

February 13 - The Arizona Republic

<p>Public officials in Los Angeles are floating ideas to bring back its historic downtown streetcar.</p>

February 13 - L.A. Downtown News

<p>This editorial from the <em>Houston Chronicle</em> argues for doing away with fares for public transit.</p>

February 13 - The Houston Chronicle

<p>Bike sharing programs are being adopted by city organizations and private firms in Tucson.</p>

February 13 - Associated Press

<p>Conservation easements in Colorado are being used to protect valuable home sites and areas earmarked for oil and gas exploration and development, not the open spaces the easements were designed to preserve.</p>

February 13 - The Rocky Mountain News

<p>Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research suggests that one way that the federal government could help millions of Americans squeezed by the housing crisis is to permit homeowners to enter "own-to-rent" arrangements.</p>

February 13 - Truthout

<p>As transit oriented development gains ground in cities across the country, it is increasingly seen as the model for the future of multi-family housing.</p>

February 13 - ArchNewsNow

<p>Boise State University's Centre for Creativity and Innovation has created and index of creative cities that's found Boise to be just about as creative as cities such as Portland and Seattle.</p>

February 13 - Boise State University Focus Magazine

<p><em>Architect</em> magazine asked experts form a broad range of fields how they would use the $1.6 trillion it is estimated to cost to fix the nation's infrastructure. Respondents include Ron Paul, Richard Florida, Alex Garvin, and many others.</p>

February 12 - Architect

<p>Planners in San Francisco are battling with city supervisors over plans to increase the affordable housing requirements for a new development -- a proposal that some planners say might scare off developers.</p>

February 12 - The San Francisco Chronicle

<p>Chris Turner reports on an artistic experiment in suburban agriculture that raised the ire of Calgary's city hall.</p>

February 12 - The Globe and Mail

<p>London is planning a new "superhighway" bicycle network that will help transform it into one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world.</p>

February 12 - The Guardian

<p>As federal funding for the Washington D.C.-Dulles rail line teeters on the edge, proponents of bus rapid transit are taking the opportunity to tout BRT as the wiser and more affordable transit solution.</p>

February 12 - The Washington Post