The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A recent guerrilla campaign designed to ease train-to-train transfer on the New York subway displeased both the MTA and regular commuters.

February 17 - Next City

The Feb. 2 spill of coal ash slurry from a Duke Energy containment pond has taken a new turn with a federal grand jury issuing subpoenas for records from both Duke Energy and the state environmental regulator.

February 17 - The Charlotte Observer

Torontonians who have been fighting a Walmart in Downtown’s belovedly indie Kensington Market neigbourhood appear to have won their battle against a goliath developer. A revised development proposal features significantly scaled-down retail units.

February 17 - The Globe and Mail

A recent study by the Pew Research Center shows that despite the increasing use of tablets and e-readers, Americans still love books and still rely on libraries as a central cultural institution.

February 16 - Pew Research Center

Historic and affordable housing tax credits recently came under fire from a Missouri state senator. Kevin Collison, writing for the Kansas City Star, responded.

February 16 - The Kansas City Star

Yosemite National Park officials released a revised draft of the Merced River Plan. An earlier of the controversial plan would have restricted recreation and removed swimming pools from the national park's famed hotels.

February 16 - San Jose Mercury News

Remember the $8.7 billion Hudson River rail tunnel project that Chris Christie canceled in 2010 shortly after becoming governor? N.J. legislators investigating the September lane shut-down on the George Washington Bridge are now connecting the dots.

February 16 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

Tired of not closing deals to preserve affordable housing due to delays in public financing, the nonprofit Housing Partnership Network created a real estate investment trust. The results have been "game changing."

February 16 - NPR

Despite numerous legal and legislative setbacks in the last few months, the California High Speed Rail Authority has released a new business plan—the first update of the controversial plan since 2012.

February 15 - The Fresno Bee

A side-by side-comparison of several cities’ snow routes reveals the inherent logic (or lack thereof) of their transportation infrastructure.

February 15 - Atlantic Cities

Plan documents tend to be static, long, and—let's face it—boring. See how three planning organizations started thinking outside the PDF box to encourage more informed citizen participation.

February 15 - Engaging Cities

The state of Illinois is actively pushing two highway projects that might fail to pencil-out for users and for state taxpayers.

February 15 - Chi.Streetsblog

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Planning Commission Chair Carl Weisbrod while promising planning decisions that produce economic and social justice benefits. The question is to what degree planning can influence those outcomes.

February 15 - TransitCenter

Fools rush in, they say—with a little push from the Cambridge Traffic, Parking, & Transportation Department.

February 14 - Boston Globe

President Obama is in California today to pitch a $1 billion “resilience fund” to help communities dealing with the weather impacts of climate change—including the state’s current drought.

February 14 - The Hill

A valentine to ten cities around the world that are quietly creating urban paradigms to admire and emulate.

February 14 - Future Cities

Seattle’s massive highway tunneling project delays while solutions are sought for the mechanical error that brought the project’s massive drilling machine, Bertha, to a halt. Some are starting to examine life after Bertha.

February 14 - Seattle Transit Blog

At a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee meeting on Feb. 12, leaders from big labor, big business, AASHTO, and AMTRAK testified to the importance of keeping the Highway Trust Fund solvent. The first two specified increasing the gas tax.

February 14 - The Hill

A new report argues that city governments have some of the same incentives for de-emphasizing single-occupant commuters as colleges—such as attracting younger workers and freeing up land used for parking.

February 14 - Governing

Airbnb, arguably the most famous symbol of the sharing economy, has a court date with the New York State Attorney General in March. Meanwhile, a new report has evidence that Airbnb is fudging its numbers relevant to a key issue in the case.

February 14 - Skift