The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

BLOG POST

<p>Thanks to Planetizen for asking me to participate in “Planetizen Interchange” with such a distinguished group. This is my first entry so to let you know a bit about me, I live in New Orleans, LA. I was displaced for 10 months to Houston, TX after Katrina destroyed my house, but I am back in New Orleans where I am a planning, zoning and land use consultant.

February 26 - Anonymous

<p>Communities in Pennsylvania and other stats are struggling to develop regulations in the face of a growing number of billboard applications.</p>

February 26 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

<p>Long known internationally as America's "Gay Mecca", San Francisco's Castro District is seeing an influx of straight couples who find the district's amenities attractive. A movement is afoot to ensure the district retains its gay identity.</p>

February 26 - The San Francisco Chronicle

<p>Amid concerns over his plans to create a modern socialist republic, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has denied that he has plans to phase out the concept of private property in the country.</p>

February 26 - International Herald Tribune

FEATURE

With the Latino population growing tremendously, it's time to begin addressing the shortcomings in the practice of planning regarding this key demographic.

February 26 - Leonardo Vazquez, AICP/PP

<p>In response to meeting regional housing demand requirements stipulated by the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee of Berkeley, California, considers a high-rise development plan proposed by city staff.</p>

February 26 - The Berkeley Daily Planet

<p>Walt Disney's utopian dream forever changed Orlando, Florida, and laid the blueprint for the new American metropolis.</p>

February 26 - National Geographic

<p>What do you do when you've been living a car-free lifestyle and you win a brand new car?</p>

February 26 - The Globe and Mail

<p>Sewer and water ratepayers in San Diego recognize that a rate hike is the only way to pay for replacing aging infrastructure.</p>

February 26 - San Diego Union Tribune

BLOG POST

<p>In spring 2007, the Texas Transportation Institute and its partners will release the newest version of the &quot;Mobility Report.&quot; This eagerly-awaited document will chronicle the worsening congestion in urban and suburban America. The report typically spawns a frenzy of media stories as folks eagerly peruse the ranking lists finding out just how their area did. While methodology tweaks and data issues might add a few wrinkles, no one will be surprised to see congestion worse than the prior report two years ago. Surprise, surprise!

February 25 - Steven Polzin

<p>Poverty rates in the United States are at a 32-year high, and a new study suggests that 58% of Americans will experience poverty at least once in their lives.</p>

February 25 - Common Dreams

<p>With the U.S. Decennial Census long form dropped in favor of the annual American Community Survey, the Census Bureau is busy preparing its one-page, six-question form. The task is not as easy as you'd think.</p>

February 25 - The Wall Street Journal

<p>Rising property costs and the threat of hurricanes are pushing more and more people out of the Florida Keys. The area experienced a 4% decline in population between 2000 and 2005, a trend expected to continue.</p>

February 25 - The Christian Science Monitor

<p>The all-powerful California Transportation Commission is besieged by attacks from both Northern and Southern California leaders who argue for a greater share of the landmark $20 billion transportation bond fund approved by voters last November.</p>

February 25 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>As part of its entrance into the European Union, Bulgaria was required to submit a list of territories it wanted to have protected. The list has fallen short of environmentalists' hopes, and gone too far in the minds of landowners and investors.</p>

February 25 - International Herald Tribune

BLOG POST

It has been a few years since my last trip to Europe, so perhaps I have selective memory. But I don’t recall having to compete with hundreds of cars or choke down exhaust while exploring the streets of London. I remember navigating through seas of people that filled the city’s squares, alleyways and boulevards.

February 24 - Diana DeRubertis

BLOG POST

<p>For those admitted to graduate planning programs in the U.S., March is the season of choices and decisions. Offers appear. Decision deadlines approach. Wait lists are formed. Even those who thought they knew what they wanted may be tempted to change their minds. Having been affiliated with seven vastly different planning programs, and having worked both as a faculty member and practitioner, I can attest that the choices aren’t simple. </p>

February 24 - Ann Forsyth

BLOG POST

<p>Reading news stories about planning is crucially important to the worth of planners, developers, public officials, policy makers, and anyone else who cares about the way communities form and evolve. By knowing what&#39;s going on in other places, those concerned with cities and their development will be better informed to analyze and approach the planning issues facing their own communities.

February 24 - Nate Berg

<p>The Nation magazine investigates whether 100,000 FEMA-purchased trailers are releasing toxic fumes from materials used in their construction, and made worse by low quality standards as the trailers were constructed at breakneck speeds.</p>

February 24 - The Nation via Sun Herland

<p>Residents are upset that plans for a waterfront casino in Sparks, Nevada, were not revealed to the public early enough in the planning project. Many fear that by the time a public hearing is held, the citizen voice will have no power to make changes.</p>

February 24 - Reno Gazette-Journal