The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A former Seattle Mayor shells out close to $1 million for development rights over the Lusty Lady strip club, after the owners refuse to sell.

March 28 - Seattle Weekly

Recent popular literature and movies have focused on megacities in developing nations. Do they symbolize the international city of the 21st century?

March 28 - New Statesman

In Calgary, the Planning Commission wants to ban stucco, but a condo developer objects.

March 28 - Calgary Sun

A recent appeal of a Planning Department project approval has forced developers to examine the cumulative impact of all market-rate housing on the city's eastern neighborhoods.

March 28 - The San Francisco Bay Guardian

BLOG POST

Will the new urban ecosystem be wireless? And if so, will corporate American own this new ecosystem?<br /> <br /> That's the fascinating point Jeffrey Chester makes in his new article, "The Dangers of Corporate Wi-Fi", published on TheNation.com and distributed through <a href="http://www.alternet.org/story/34018/">AlterNet</a>. Chester argues that there's no such thing as a free wireless lunch:<br /> <br /> <blockquote>"Consumers and public officials should have no illusions that what is being touted as a public benefit is also designed to spur the growth of a mobile marketing ecosystem, an emerging field of electronic commerce that is expected to generate huge revenues for Google, Microsoft, AT&T and many others. Soon, wherever we wander, a ubiquitous online environment will follow us with ads and information dovetailed to our interests and our geographic location."</blockquote>

March 28 - Chris Steins

South by Southwest, Austin's annual music festival, may have grown too big for its britches.

March 28 - Houston Press

Mayor Mackie Choice of the I-45 overpass homeless city in Dallas has a few choice words for Dallas Mayor Laura Miller and her plan to end homelessness as soon as possible.

March 28 - The Dallas Observer

For Michael McGough, the restoration of Dix Street in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood has become a personal mission.

March 28 - The Boston Globe

While options for what to do with Seattle's obsolete waterfront Alaskan Way Viaduct may seem limited, another plan has been thrown into the mix.

March 28 - The Seattle Times

Paul Pedini, a Big Dig highway and tunnel engineer, took advantage of the low price (free) and used the remnants of Boston's Central Artery project to build himself a new house.

March 27 - The Boston Globe

Smart growth and other land use restrictions cost U.S. homebuyers at least $275 billion in 2005, according to a new report by Randal O'Toole and the American Dream Coalition. O'Toole calls the additional costs 'The Planning Penalty.'

March 27 - American Dream Coalition

In Philadelphia, politics, not planning, determines what gets built, according to UPenn Fellow Mark Alan Hughes. A project that can be built as-of-right under the current zoning has riled elected officials and neighbors.

March 27 - The Philadelphia Daily News

The famous food market is "the heart and soul of the city".

March 27 - Business Week

Traffic congestion is the "greatest challenge" for Meridian, Idaho, the growth of which has brought positive changes as well.

March 27 - The Idaho Statesman

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is one of the only major transit agencies in the U.S. not to receive state funding, and one reverend is trying to change that.

March 27 - Creative Loafing Atlanta

Reporting to work at four in the morning is a pleasure for Larry Taylor, whose story reflects the history of the city through which he drives.

March 27 - International Herald Tribune

FEATURE

March 27 - Todd Litman

In the face of a ballooning national debt and possibly impending oil shocks, the city can rest assured that its public transit network provides residents with a little breathing room.

March 27 - The New York Times

Sustainable living think tank SustainLane ranks the cities most likely to survive and thrive despite any potential oil crisis and spikes in gas prices.

March 27 - CNNMoney.com

BLOG POST

If you follow the entertainment/business news, you know that <a href="http://corporate.disney.go.com/index.html">Disney</a> <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4642116.stm">bought</a> <a href="http://www.pixar.com/">Pixar</a>, the digital animation company that made <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114709/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnx0dD0xfGZiPXV8cG49MHxrdz0xfHNvdXJjZWlkPW1vemlsbGEtc2VhcmNofHE9dG95IHN0b3J5fGZ0PTF8bXg9MjB8bG09NTAwfGNvPTF8aHRtbD0xfG5tPTE_;fc=1;ft=23;fm=1"><em>Toy Story</em></a>, among other great movies.

March 26 - Anonymous