The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The principal spokesman for Maryland’s high-profile Smart Growth Initiative analyzes the program's strenghts and weaknesses and offers strategies for similar statewide, incentive-based programs.

October 25 - Vermont Journal of Environmental Law

Heritage at Millennium Park, the latest skyscraper to grace Chicago's already dense skyline, is already garnering a lot of attention.

October 25 - The Chicago Tribune

Some states ease laws to allow traditional neighborhood development.

October 25 - Michigan Land Use Institute

For escape from high-rises, it's high tech to the rescue. An 'executive chute' is one of many innovations on the market. Some doubt if 'last-resort' systems work.

October 25 - The Christian Science Monitor

In the Northeast, where land costs are high and expectations are high, the most cost-effective way to build is to build up.

October 25 - The Boston Globe

The LA Times investigates the shady side of Regency Outdoor Advertising, a Hollywood-based billboard company. Among the charges are bribery, smear campaigns, building without permits, intimidation and poisoning trees.

October 25 - The Los Angeles Times

Congested Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco, CA, is actually US Highway 101. Many bus lines use the business-lined avenue, but they are impacted by the congestion along the wide corridor. The proposed BRT project has many of the business-owners wary of prop

October 24 - San Francisco Examiner

Once a small seaside city most Americans know only from its namesake movie, Casablanca is now Morocco's biggest city and a sprawling metropolis.

October 24 - International Herald Tribune

The first segment of an 18-mile multi-use trail opens in Benton, Maine.

October 24 - Portland Press Herald

Is Vancouver's housing bubble and density destroying what made the city so livable?

October 24 - The Seattle Times

How New Orleans recovers from Hurricane Katrina will depend on who is returning back to the city.

October 24 - The Washington Post

Despite being considered the poster child for sprawl, Los Angeles is not a particularly good example of sprawl, and by several measures is the densest place in the U.S.

October 24 - The Los Angeles Times

A developer proposes to extend a voter-approved Urban Growth Boundary in Livermore, CA, using green building, specifically solar power, as an enticement to gain voter support for their initiative. Environmental organizations galvanize to oppose it.

October 24 - San Jose Mercury News

FEATURE

What are the necessary ingredients for successful Transit Oriented Development (TOD)? Bruce Liedstrand, Planner for Liedstrand Associates, lists the ten fundamental, common-sense elements of TOD.

October 24 - Bruce Liedstrand

Salisbury, Massachusetts is considering a zoning change that would improve walkability, allow for more residential units, and help expand businesses in Salisbury Square.

October 24 - The Boston Globe

The Russian town of Rublyovo-Arkhangelskoye will focus on attracting 30,000 of the country's wealthiest residents.

October 24 - BBC News

The ranch house has come to symbolize residential architecture in American between 1945 and 1970. And the ranch house is hip again.

October 23 - The Los Angeles Times

The Las Vegas Review-Journal, citing a study by Randal O'Toole, calls the proposed multi-billion-dollar light rail line from Henderson to North Las Vegas a 'white elephant'.

October 23 - Las Vegas Review-Journal

Investigators find a series of flaws at every level in the 'conception, design, construction and maintenance' of New Orleans' levee system.

October 23 - The Los Angeles Times

Churches and their parking lots dominate some East Side neighborhoods. It's a mixed blessing at best.

October 23 - The Cleveland Free Times