The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>There is no doubt about it: London's 5-year-old congestion charge has transformed life in London. More people are taking the bus and trains, more people are biking, and fewer crashes occur. But there can be major hardships when the charge isn't paid.</p>

July 24 - The Wall Street Journal

<p>The explosion of an 83-year old steam pipe in Manhattan shouldn't be viewed as an isolated incident, but a warning sign.</p>

July 24 - Associated Press

<p>The debate over McMansionization has pitted neighbor against neighbor across the United States.</p>

July 24 - The Los Angeles Times

BLOG POST

<p>At the opening dinner of an international workshop on building a better national transportation policy, I found myself seated between Charlotte, North Carolina mayor Pat McCrory and Shirley DeLibero, a consultant who headed transit authorities in New Jersey and Houston, and was a deputy in both Dallas and Washington D.C. </p><p>McCrory&#39;s a Republican, Charlotte&#39;s first six-term mayor, first elected mayor in 1995. While his city has grown 20 percent, McCrory&#39;s presided over a shift from an all-roads strategy to a hybrid model adding rail transit to heavily congested corridors radiated from the region&#39;s center. The first line, a south corridor, is scheduled to open this fall, supported by the half-cent sales tax passed in 1998 to build and operate a better transit system. Now in 2007, the mayor finds himself in a serious cross-fire as he ponders re-election prospects.</p>

July 23 - Anonymous

<p>To reduce traffic congestion and parking shortage, Paris launched a bike rental program similar to one implemented in other European cities. After its first week, an average of 45,000 bikes have been rented every day.</p>

July 23 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino's Pizza, has built a Catholic college and a Catholic-focused community in Ave Maria, Florida. The 5,000-acre community will include 11,000 housing units, 1.2 million s.f. of mixed use space, and a 55-foot crucifix.</p>

July 23 - USA Today

<p>By leasing some of its publicly-owned parking facilities to private developers, the city of Minneapolis is taking a large chunk out of its debt and creating a new stream of tax revenue.</p>

July 23 - Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune

<p>Already one of the nation's most bike-friendly cities, Portland, Oregon, is looking to update its bicycle master plan to make cycling even more attractive in the city.</p>

July 23 - The Portland Tribune

<p>This year's Chelsea Flower Show in London offers some innovative examples of how gardens can flourish in cities.</p>

July 23 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>A new design for mid-rise apartments promises to help make more higher-density projects pencil.</p>

July 23 - Apartment Finance Today

BLOG POST

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Most people use the Summer months to re-connect with pastimes forgotten during winter months.<span> </span>It is this time of the year that sales soar both at the box office and in bookstores.<span> </span>Most normal people I know take trashy novels with them to the beach or submerge themselves in an entire season of 24 (which thanks to Netflix can be accomplished in a few intense evenings).<span> </span>I tend to lean toward the other extreme (although I have indulged in bad TV from time to time).<span> </span>My wife calls me a design geek because my bedside table is always full of design magazines, books and theory.</font></font></p>

July 23 - Scott Page

<p>Citing the successful examples of transit-oriented development in Portland and Denver, Mayor Tom Barrett says its time for the Brew City to improve its transit system.</p>

July 23 - Small Business Times

<p>Even with the housing slow down, the cost of building a new apartment building continues to rise -- due to increasing prices for materials and a surge of commercial construction projects.</p>

July 23 - Apartment Finance Today

<p>Want a buy a home for less than $100,000? Check out these communities profiled by Money Magazine.</p>

July 23 - Money Magazine

<p>Home to Chinese immigrants before becoming a town known for vice and sin, Garden City, Idaho, is planning a rebirth that leaders and residents hope will transform the community into a desirable and prosperous part of Metro Boise.</p>

July 23 - The Boise Weekly

<p>Director Rita Robinson discusses the Bureau of Sanitation's pursuit of a cleaner, greener, and landfill-free L.A.</p>

July 22 - The Metro Investment Report

<p>A trip to Baja California -- with its ubiquitous taco stands -- inspires one resident of a New Urbanist community to deal with his neighborhood's lack of eateries by developing a plan for a taco stand.</p>

July 22 - A Taco Stand in Every Neighborhood

<p>Politicians in Toronto are looking to large-scale developments centered around casinos to help boost the city's economy. But the provincial legislation in Ontario may prevent the approval of any new casinos.</p>

July 22 - The Toronto Star

<p>The State of California has approved a plan to clean mercury from the San Francisco Bay. Due to the high concentration of the harmful toxin, the extensive effort has a 70-year timetable.</p>

July 22 - The San Francisco Chronicle

<p>For a host of environmental and aesthetic reasons, roof-top vegetation and gardens are catching on -- though there are still many questions about how and when to apply the technique.</p>

July 22 - The Salt Lake Tribune