The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

BLOG POST

URISA <a href="http://www.giscorps.org/">GISCorps</a> got a good response to their <a href="http://www.planetizen.com/tech/archives/2005/09/01/316/">call for GIS volunteers</a>. All volunteer positions are now filled. Volunteers will be going to Jackson, Mississippi. <br /> <br /> <blockquote><br /> "Seven of the volunteers are map production experts. There is a lab in Jackson where they can start <br /> their work with hardware and software ready to use. They have some data and more is coming. The <br /> second group of volunteers will be in the field with GPS equipment. The group in Jackson will be <br /> mapping the field data as soon as they can and hand it over to the emergency personnel."</blockquote>

September 2 - Abhijeet Chavan

Some scientists believe that storms such as Hurricane Katrina that are sometimes called an act of God or a natural disaster, are partly man-made.

September 2 - Wall St. Journal

Interviews with authors who warned about New Orleans' vulnerability to hurricanes years ago.

September 2 - Democracy Now!

The city is building short ramps to let cars bypass busy intersections. Traffic has improved, but for how long?

September 2 - The Christian Science Monitor

While the French Quarter may have survived, much of the built heritage of New Orleans may be lost.

September 1 - The New York Times

BLOG POST

Urban and Regional Information Systems Association's (<a href="http://www.urisa.org/">URISA</a>) GISCorps coordinates volunteer GIS services to underprivileged communities. <a href="http://www.giscorps.org/">GISCorps</a> is looking for GIS professionals to volunteer for emergency and relief efforts in the region affected by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina">Hurricane Katrina</a>.<br /> <br /> <blockquote><br /> "The immediate need is for 5-10 volunteers at this point. These volunteers must have enough GIS experience to work effectively in an emergency situation. Volunteers must have expertise in map production, performing analysis, data management, and etc. Expertise in disaster management and working with GPS equipment is highly desirable."<br /> </blockquote>

September 1 - Abhijeet Chavan

Disruption of gulf oil production due to Katrina may lead to a national "gas crisis".

September 1 - CNNMoney

Roxanne Quimby, who recently sold her Burt's Bees empire for $175 Million, has a vision for a world-class village green in one of Maine's most picturesque harbors.

September 1 - Portland Press Herald

Hundreds of millions in federal dollars originally intended to shore up levees and build pumping stations around New Orleans were diverted to the pay for the war in Iraq.

September 1 - Editor & Publisher

A profile of influential environmental architect William McDonough.

September 1 - The New York Times

The downtown living trend can only work as long as the jobs remain in the city.

September 1 - The Toronto Star

The nation's national parks will be destroyed by a secret draft revision of the national park system's basic management policies.

September 1 - The New York Times

More than 15 projects and 70,000 homes are in the works for Central Florida, which has some activists concerned about sprawl.

September 1 - The Orlando Sentinel

The Urban Land Institute is going nationwide with a program that should make it easier for smarth growth and new urban projects to win the governmental approvals thay need.

September 1 - New Urban News

The city of Bo01 has served as a model for urban designers all over the world -- but is it really liveable?

September 1 - The Guardian Unlimited

BLOG POST

Let's take a moment for New Orleans, folks. Better coverage elsewhere -- check out <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/">Boing Boing</a> for links in the blogosphere. So here, you just get an observation: nature, abetted by dumb human decisionmaking, has killed that city.<br /> <br /> In a lot of ways, New Orleans is -- maybe was -- a great place. Tremendous food and music. Like Las Vegas, it was a place where Americans kept their decadence, like a precious thing in a box. In Europe, every city and town blows up into a party Carnival; in the US, we keep our Carnivals going non-stop, 24/7, but they're geographically confined.

August 31 - Anonymous

Planners are mapping out the new campus with enviromental concerns at the forefront.

August 31 - University Of California

Enthusiast Scott Kozel has amassed a staggering amount of information on highways in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.

August 31 - Virginian Pilot

The L.A. Conservancy gives up its bid to save historic structure which could be razed to make way for schools.

August 31 - The Los Angeles Times

Water has sustained New Orleans and perpetually threatened it. City officials estimated that 80% of the town is under standing water.

August 31 - The Los Angeles Times