The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>A farmer in England secretly built a mock-Tudor castle on his property and kept it out of view for years by hiding it behind a 40-foot stack of hay bales.</p>

February 8 - Daily Mail

<p>The increasing use of food grains in biofuels, rising meat consumption in Asia and perverse government farming subsidies are having a serious effect on global food security.</p>

February 8 - Telegraph

<p>Despite complaints from residents and critics, a 27-story tower to be built on the edge of Boston's high-rise Financial District and its more modest Chinatown neighborhood has passed review form the city's design commission.</p>

February 8 - The Boston Globe

<p>While Montgomery County, Maryland had one of the first affordable housing programs in the country, recently, the community has not seen the required units constructed by developers.</p>

February 8 - The Washington Post

<p>Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is looking to make his city's streets safer for cyclists by raising fines for reckless drivers who endanger bikers.</p>

February 8 - Chicago Sun-Times

<p>A federal court has ruled that Metropolitan Atlanta cannot increase its draw of water from Lake Lanier, a ruling viewed as a major victory for Alabama and Florida which has been quarreling with Georgia over the reservoir's water for years.</p>

February 8 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

<p>Los Angeles has created a joint-powers authority to consider a regional magnetic-levitation train system. The $26 billion system would be funded and operated by a private firm.</p>

February 8 - The Daily Breeze

<p>Communities are looking at ways to become more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, but they're struggling to combat local opposition.</p>

February 8 - The New York Times

<p>This article from <em>The Journal of American History</em> looks at the history behind the human geography of New Orleans and how these residential patterns were affected by Hurricane Katrina.</p>

February 8 - The Journal of American History

<p>This presentation from the March 2007 TED conference features Robin Chase, founder of the car-sharing service Zipcar. Chase discusses other ideas for tackling the congestion problems facing America's urban areas.</p>

February 8 - TED Blog

<p>This editorial form <em>The Boston Globe</em> looks at efforts to reverse sprawl in an aging mill town.</p>

February 7 - The Boston Globe

<p>More cities across the globe are pushing civic improvement projects that seek to improve both the local economy and the happiness of its people.</p>

February 7 - En Route

<p>Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser has introduces a plan for a regional light rail transit system. Now he just needs his neighbors get on board.</p>

February 7 - The Kansas City Star

<p>The rise of foreclosure cases in Miami-Dade County is overloading the County Clerk's office, causing the office to expand its auction days from two to three days per week.</p>

February 7 - The Miami Herald

<p>The U.S. Census Bureau's Report on Vacancies and Homeownership shows that homeownership rates are declining while inventories of available housing are increasing.</p>

February 7 - CNN Money

<p>Scientists are warning that unless consumers use fewer plastics and oceangoing vessels and oil platforms dispose of their wastes differently, gigantic plastic Garbage Patches swirling in the Pacific gyres will continue to grow.</p>

February 7 - The Independent (UK)

<p>This article looks at how landscape architects have combined green roofs, public spaces and affordable housing to address the chronic homelessness in San Francisco's infamous Tenderloin district.</p>

February 7 - Landscape Architecture

<p>Civic groups in Indianapolis are pushing city officials to consider streetcars downtown.</p>

February 7 - The Indianapolis Star

<p>Senior citizens account for a disproportional amount of pedestrian fatalities and injuries in New York City. As a result, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made plans to focus on improving mobility and safety for the city's over-60 population.</p>

February 7 - The Gotham Gazette

<p>Fewer Americans are visiting parks and and participating in outdoor activities, according to a new study.</p>

February 7 - NPR