The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Farmers Use Easements To Protect Land

Housing developments are threatening centuries-old agricultural land in Western North Carolina, but farmers are fighting off developers with the help of conservation easements.

August 26 - Mountain XPress

'Self-Inflicted' UK Flooding Could Be Planners' Fault

Leading British scientists are warning the country that forecasted high tides could flood many low-lying areas. They caution that the coming devastation could have been prevented by better floodplain planning and more environmental considerations.

August 26 - BBC

Global Warming Impact More Severe For Urban Areas

Urban areas will be hit harder by climate change as global warming combines with the "urban heat island" effect.

August 26 - BBC

Friday Funny: Why Don't People Want To Gentrify My Neighborhood?

A struggling artist laments in The Onion that more people like him aren't moving into his neighborhood to make it even more authentic than it is now...and asking for $3.00 lattes.

August 25 - The Onion

Electricity, Oil Or Gas? Fueling The Motorcar Age

Gasoline beat out other alternatives in the 1920's as the energy source for new autos.

August 25 - The Washington Post


New Urbanism's Role in Rebuilding New Orleans

What New Orleans can learn from Denver.

August 25 - Slate

Voters Approve Of Transportation Ballot Measures

A review of transportation ballot measures from 2000-2005 found growing use of voter-approved financing. Over than span, 70 percent of transportation measures were successful at the ballot box generating at least $70 billion in new investment.

August 25 - Center For Transportation Excellence


Katrina 'Reshuffled' The Fortunes of Gulf Coast Cities

While New Orleans' economy struggles to return to its pre-storm levels, cities such as Mobile, Alabama are reaping the benefits of renewed economic vigor.

August 25 - The Wall Street Journal

Affordable Housing: Managing The Message

The right choice of words, stories and images can have a remarkable effect on how the public views affordable housing.

August 25 - Shelterforce Magazine

Bicycles No Longer Welcomed In China's Cities

China's pell-mell race towards modernization reduces reliance on bicycle for transportation.

August 25 - Sierra

Bistro At A Bus Station

Can a bus station attract tablecloth dining facilities? The Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC has for years had a bad reputation, but in recent years it has been turned around, along with the surrounding area.

August 25 - The New York Times

Cox Says Sydney Needs More Freeways

Wendell Cox has diagnosed what he sees as Sydney, Australia's most crippling problem: not enough freeways. Australian developers have taken in America's most vocal supporter of sprawl, who is pushing for more drivability in Sydney.

August 25 - The Sydney Morning Herald

U.S. Housing Market Tumbles Further

A two and a half year low in sales of existing homes and buyers' holding out for better deals are just a few signs of the accelerating tumble in housing markets.

August 25 - The Baltimore Sun

Los Angeles Wrestles With Accelerating Gentrification

As Los Angeles' old neighborhoods are scrubbed clean and the city begins to embrace density, gentrification is threatening the way of life for residents in many communities.

August 24 - LA Weekly

Denver's New Rail Line Is Successful At Attracting Development

As renters increasingly value access to transit, more and more new apartment and mixed-use developments are springing up around the city's new light rail stations.

August 24 - CBS 4 Denver

Court Rejects Bush Plan To Log In National Monument

Federal judge turns down Bush administration plans to increase logging in the Giant Sequoia National Monument which contains up to two-thirds of the world's giant seqoias.

August 24 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Upstate New York Towns Slow Down Growth Of Wind Farms

Commercial wind farms are to many small towns in rural, upstate NY what the Cape Wind proposal is to Cape Cod -- highly controversial. Moratoriums play key role in developing land use regulations to quell citizen opposition.

August 24 - The Daily Star, Oneonta, NY

Suburbs Are Making Canadians Fatter

A new study in Canada provides additional evidence linking the obesity epidemic in North America with suburban sprawl.

August 24 - Canada.com

Questions About Wetlands Remain After Court Ruling

A split decision from the United States Supreme Court has left unanswered questions about the definition of a wetland.

August 24 - American City & County

Planners, Scientists Discover Power Of Google Earth

Google Earth has "injected new life" into the geographic information systems industry.

August 24 - Spiegel Online

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