The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>Commentator Barbara Ehrenreich laments the 'luxurification' of every scenic spot in America.</p>

July 1 - The Huffington Post

<p>Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company is on charrette designing three different sites in Houston, a city well-known for its homogeneous suburban development. Plans include a TOD, sustainability, brownfield redevelopment, and of course walkability.</p>

July 1 - The Houston Chronicle

BLOG POST

<p>Last week I was up in Vancouver participating in a &quot;Roundtable&quot; discussion focused on whether Vancouver&#39;s politicians should pass policies to &quot;protect&quot; commercial activity downtown from displacement caused by the red hot residential condo market. At this roundtable, I had the opportunity to meet Brent Toderian. He is the City of Vancouver&#39;s Director of Planning. I was very impressed with him. It now strikes me that &quot;free market&quot; enviro/urban economists (such as myself) and urban planners should talk more often. Permit me to generalize based on 2 data points!

June 30 - Matthew E. Kahn

<p>As of July 1, Virginia drivers have lots to fear if they break traffic laws –- huge traffic fines, so as to help pay for the roads they drive on.</p>

June 30 - USA Today

<p>After recently losing out on federal dollars due to a lack of congestion pricing plans, local transportation officials have overcome their reluctance for "Lexus Lanes" and agreed to begin planning for tolls.</p>

June 30 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>The Harvest Foundation seeks to revitalize the Southern Virginia community of Martinsville/Henry County by making it a haven for bicycling, walking, and better growth.</p>

June 30 - Martinsville Bulletin (VA)

<p>A study calculates the growing cost of maintaining Alaska's infrastructure as a result of global warming.</p>

June 30 - The New York Times

<p>Chesterfield County's bucolic way of life is threatened by the arrival of new suburban subdivisions, which residents challenge don't meet the test of smart growth.</p>

June 30 - Style Weekly

<p>David Biggs, a lifelong resident of Moss Point, Mississippi, is overjoyed with his new modular cottage, a marked improvement over FEMA trailers.</p>

June 29 - Mississippi Press

<p>Think your neighborhood disputes are rancorous? With ample swearing, <em>The Onion</em> pokes diabolical fun at NIMBYism and "short-sighted, profit-oriented renewal."</p>

June 29 - The Onion

<p>A computer model may be able to assist city planners, public safety officials, and researchers in exploring individual pedestrian and crowd behavior in urban spaces.</p>

June 29 - Pruned

<p>There are good reasons why the U.S. hasn't built a high-speed rail network. But there are just as many, if not more, good reasons why it should.</p>

June 29 - Wired Magazine

<p>Of the 20 largest U.S. cities in 1950, all but 4 have lost residents -- a trend the emphasizes the American populations migration to the suburbs of the South and West.</p>

June 29 - The Washington Post

BLOG POST

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial">By North-American standards, Vancouver is already a density-friendly city, relatively speaking. Although we&#39;ve had our share of density related brawls and debates over the decades, by comparison to the wars fought in other cities, the &quot;D-Word&quot; gets a better reception here than in most places.

June 29 - Brent Toderian

<p>The MiSo is a prototype zero emission modular house developed at the University of Michigan. While still in early phases, the school hopes to develop the homes into a commercial venture.</p>

June 29 - Ann Arbor Business Review

<p>Planners and officials in Baltimore are looking to recreate one of the city's major streets as a vibrant tourist and retail area. But opinions differ on how to do it and where to look for examples.</p>

June 29 - The Baltimore Sun

<p>The Silicon Valley cities of Mountain View and Sunnyvale are alike in many ways. But their downtowns offer a study in contrasts because of land use decisions made 30 years ago.</p>

June 29 - California Planning & Development Report

<p>New ozone standards will push the majority of American metropolises from compliance with to violation of the federal Clean Air Act. In this column, Joel Schwartz argues that ozone isn't the big problem.</p>

June 29 - National Review

<p>The public housing project where reggae legend Bob Marley lived is being re-envisioned as a historic site and tourist area. But high crime in the depressed neighborhood poses a challenge to dreams of a tourist-friendly shrine to Marley.</p>

June 29 - BBC

<p>New development spurred by rail expansion is setting Washington D.C.-adjacent Tysons Corner, Virginia, on what many see as a fast-track to revitalization.</p>

June 29 - Falls Church News-Press