The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>While leasing public roads to private companies for large cash payments might be attractive for some public officials, it doesn't help solve the larger issues facing the country's transportation system.</p>

March 2 - The Hartford Courant

<p>Architect Helmut Jahn's design for a new single-room occupancy building on the edge of Chicago's former Cabrini Green project gets high marks, but some criticize the cost of using high-end architects for affordable housing.</p>

March 2 - The Chicago Tribune

<p>Slate magazine offers a photographic slideshow of the influential New Urbanist community of Seaside, Florida.</p>

March 2 - Slate

<p>A new HUD report estimates that there are three-quarters of a million homeless Americans.</p>

March 1 - Yahoo! News

<p>A University of Oregon study, which was awarded Outstanding Paper at annual TRB conference, shows that people value speed and distance over security, and will walk up to 1/2 mile to transit.</p>

March 1 - University of Oregon News

<p>As housing prices decrease, demographics shift again in North Brentwood, Maryland, where a large Latin American population has moved into a primarily African American community.</p>

March 1 - The Washington Post

<p>In Cairo, many argue that the government provides few services and does little to better the lives of its 15 million people. The city's many informal communities were formed without any urban planning.</p>

March 1 - International Herald Tribune

<p>Fortune Magazine tracks the states (and homes) that the wealthiest Americans call home.</p>

March 1 - Fortune

<p>A State legislature is proposing a bill that would essentially gut Austin's recently passed 'McMansion' ordinance.</p>

March 1 - Austin American Statesman

<p>Sarasota County, Florida, is looking to gain greater control over planning from cities in an upcoming vote. This move is in response to a recent report that outlines how city planning in the county has encouraged sprawl over the last 50 years.</p>

March 1 - Charlotte Sun-Herald

<p>A new toolkit demonstrates how the challenges of the nation's aging population can help create sustainable communities that benefit everyone.</p>

March 1 - World Watch Institute

<p>Plans have been proposed to expand downtown Boston's pedestrian-only shopping district with the hopes of improving the area's economic viability. Despite high pedestrian traffic, the shopping center has not been as successful as others in the city.</p>

March 1 - The Boston Globe

<p>As Southern California's population grows -- and taxes its famously scarce water supply -- the Inland Empire Utilities Agency is applying the tenets of smart growth to its efforts to recycle, reuse, and conserve water.</p>

March 1 - The Metro Investment Report

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal">The impact of the urban grocery store gap, particularly on low-income communities, has been well documented. The presence of full-service grocery store can raise the economic value of surrounding property, serve as an anchor in commercial districts, provide an important source of jobs, and lower the daily cost of living for residents.<span> </span>In an era of skyrocketing obesity rates, public health research shows a strong correlation between the presence of a grocery store and the consumption of fruits and vegetables.<span> </span></p>

February 28 - Lisa Feldstein

<p>The latest benchmark from SustainLane tracks which American cities are the best incubators for clean technology companies.</p>

February 28 - SustainLane

The city's planning commission wants to use "incentive zoning" to encourage the development of taller buildings and generate revenue for the city's affordable housing fund.

February 28 - The Seattle Times

<p>Plans by the developers of Vermillion, a 400 acre New Urbanist community outside Charlotte, call for the addition of hundreds of 4,000 square foot homes to the original neighborhood of townhomes and small lot houses.</p>

February 28 - The Charlotte Observer

<p>New York Times writer Chistopher Gray chronicles the history and recent renovation of New York City's 'brownstone Grand Canyon' on East 93rd street.</p>

February 28 - The New York Times

<p>Crediting the city's 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness, officials in Portland, Oregon, have announced that the number of people sleeping on the street has declined 39 percent in the last two years.</p>

February 28 - The Portland Tribune

<p>One of Los Angeles' transportation commissioners advocates eliminating bus and train fares to help the urban poor and encourage ridership.</p>

February 28 - The Los Angeles Times