The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Two new web sites, ZipRealty, Inc. and Reply Inc., allow customers to post reviews of homes. Some are meant to be humorous, but some are mean-spirited and misleading. Is this the future of on-line real estate?

September 12 - The Wall Street Journal

South Carolina's capital city, Columbia, is experiencing an unprecedented downtown condo boom. A wide array of people are readily snatching them up, from baby boomers to young professionals.

September 12 - The State

Fierce battles may arise between regional energy interests providing power to Northern Virginia’s sprawling suburbs and local land conservationists.

September 12 - The Washington Post

As a new international port sets to open in 2010, a nearby rural area in South Korea is being scouted to be the nation's next major metropolis.

September 12 - International Herald Tribune

A Maryland statewide tax that provides communities with funding to improve sewage treatment facilities has been used as an excuse to increase sprawling development.

September 12 - The Baltimore Sun

A 24-page special report looks at the "combination of big money, prime real estate, bottomless grief, artistic ego and dreams of legacy" that has left Ground Zero as "a 16-acre, 70-foot-deep hole in the heart of Lower Manhattan."

September 11 - The New York Times

The three tower designs unveiled for Ground Zero last week mostly miss the point, writes The Slatin Report: It's not about them.

September 11 - The Slatin Report

The new oil and gas field discovered in the Gulf of Mexico is of epic proportion -- not only in amount of oil (increasing US reserves by 50%), but the technology used to tap it. A new wave of deep water drilling is to be expected.

September 11 - The New York Times

In the first of two installments, the Boston Globe delves into the ever-changing built environment of Shanghai, one of China's fastest growing cities.

September 11 - The Boston Globe

After the recent death of previous mayor Bob O’Connor, Luke Ravenstahl has found himself to be the youngest mayor of any major city in the Country.

September 11 - The New York Times

New York City Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff responds to community members' calls for comprehensive transportation planning and congestion relief.

September 11 - Streetsblog

A new exhibit at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art highlights several new building plans likely to advance the city's vision to become the "greenest city in America."

September 11 - Chicago Sun-Times

FEATURE

September 11 - Brian Wallace

The Myanmar government has begun a massive rebuilding effort to 'restore' some of the country's ancient temples. But the rebuilding effort makes no attempt to preserve the history of the sites, opting to rebuild the areas into tourist attractions.

September 11 - The Los Angeles Times

Development in Bucharest, Romania, is completely at the will of developers. Can city officials regain control? <em>The Diplomat Bucharest</em> asks the experts.

September 11 - The Diplomat Bucharest

A slideshow on Slate.com examines the work of famous architects using staircase design as a case study.

September 10 - Slate Magazine

Urban sign heritage is being neglected and endangered in Montreal.

September 10 - Maisonneuve

It may not be obvious, but the new building for Berkeley City College embraces sustainable design.

September 10 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Designed to allow transit users the freedom of car-rentals-by-the-hour, Flexcars are now available throughout central Atlanta. But will anybody really use them?

September 10 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The "Channels" would create a new location in the Tulsa area for people to live, work and play. The stated goal of the project is to fully utilize the Arkansas River, Tulsa's greatest natural asset, and attract more young professionals to Tulsa.

September 10 - Tulsa World