The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Writer Kaid Benfield used a recent trip the American Society of Landscape Architects annual meeting in Boston to reflect on what that city can teach us about designing urban parks.

November 17 - NRDC Switchboard Blog

10 bold ideas for building the New York area's resiliency have been selected to move to the final round of a design competition run by HUD. The best designs could tap into billions of dollars in Hurricane Sandy relief funds.

November 17 - ArchDaily

BLOG POST

Some of the reactions to the shooting at LAX revealed troubling attitudes towards public space. Inclined as we may be to tighten security, we ought not sacrifice the richness of public life in the name of safety -- even at an airport.

November 17 - Josh Stephens

For those who though the Bay Area's transit labor woes were settled when an agreement was signed last month: think again. BART's board of directors has ordered managers to reopen negotiations after they realized a key concession had been overlooked.

November 17 - Los Angeles Times

It's certainly not a new idea - what's new is the current bipartisan Senate bill, cutely abbreviated as the BRIDGE Act, seeded with $10 billion of federal funds that would attract funds from the private sector to be loaned to worthy projects.

November 17 - The Hill's Transportation and Infrastructure Blog

The social media company Pinterest has a new home, in a converted 45,000-square-foot warehouse in San Francisco.

November 17 - Dezeen

At last week's fall meeting in Chicago, experts with the Urban Land Institute peered into their crystal ball to predict the trends that will guide the recovery of the real estate market over the next year.

November 16 - CBS MoneyWatch

Matthew L. Wald reports on the massive cyber war game called GridEx II that simulated a coordinated assault on America's power grid this week.

November 16 - The New York Times

Apparently Toronto's dysfunctional mayor hasn't stopped the rest of the city's government from functioning. With the city's bike share program facing insolvency, the city council voted to provide the Bixi-operated system with an infusion of cash.

November 16 - Cyclelicious

Localities are experimenting with social impact bonds (SIBs) to fund America's social service infrastructure. John Roman asks if such an instrument could be used to help transform blighted areas.

November 16 - Huff Post Business

Thousands of people helped transform San Francisco into Gotham City on Friday on order to fulfill a young cancer patient's wish. Miles Scott experienced a day he'll never forget and those following from afar were treated to a heartwarming story.

November 16 - NPR

As Russia prepares to welcome to world to the 2014 Winter Olympics, subway riders in Moscow are being treated to a free trip. The only caveat: You'll need to complete 30 squats to earn your ticket.

November 15 - CBS News

For far different reasons, uncontrolled intersections are proliferating in Northern Europe and Southeast Asia. But how can they be safe? Matthew Yglesias uses a video of such an intersection in Siem Reap, Cambodia to prove their functionality.

November 15 - Slate

Chicago is America's undisputed leader in using tax increment financing (TIF) to spur economic development. But what is the city getting in exchange for its efforts to fight blight? A new paper says: Not much.

November 15 - Chicago Magazine

Tragic collisions have claimed the lives of five London cyclists over the last nine days. Though the causes for the collisions have yet to be determined, Mayor Boris Johnson has suggested the deaths resulted from cyclists' "risky" decisions.

November 15 - The Guardian

A milestone was reached last month in oil imports: For the first time in 18 years, the U.S. produced more oil than it imported thanks to fracking and reduced consumption. But according to a new IEA report, shale oil growth will peak within a decade.

November 15 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

A new study appearing in the journal Science details the devastating loss of 1.5 million million square kilometers of forest across the globe between 2000 and 2012 and presents a stunning visualization of the data using high-resolution maps.

November 15 - The Washington Post

BLOG POST

The Google Barge is fascinating not for what it is but what it could herald: a future where our retail stores come to us rather than us to them.

November 15 - Norman Wright

Taking office on a promise of fiscal responsibility, scandal-plagued mayor Rob Ford threatens Toronto’s reputation and future prosperity. Adam Giambrone shares insights from some of Toronto’s business leaders and financial experts.

November 15 - Now Magazine

Sure, reusing an existing building is probably the most sustainable method of construction, but a new neighborhood on Bainbridge Island, Washington sets an enviable standard for environmental responsibility in every aspect of its design.

November 15 - Fast Company Co.Exist