The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Smart Growth needs to adopt a more populist message, argues Robert Steuteville, and demonstrate how cities can empower people of all classes. Could "Lean Urbanism" provide the foundation?

November 8 - Better! Cities & Towns

Vancouver, Canada, has the worst traffic of any North American city according to the latest TomTom Traffic Index rankings. Los Angeles takes second place.

November 8 - The Huffington Post

While we won't live to see it, humanity's carbon emissions could one day melt all of the ice on Earth. National Geographic's interactive map shows how the world's coastlines would change when sea levels rise 216 feet. Say goodbye to Florida.

November 8 - National Geographic

Tom Vanderbilt examines the word “neighborhood,” a term "frequently invoked yet seldom analyzed". He traces attempts to define, redefine, strengthen and weaken the concept in modern urbanism. Is it obsolete or more important than ever?

November 8 - The Wilson Quarterly

Buffalo is benefiting from a wave of "microdevelopment" driven by entrepreneurs and young urbanists with a belief in preservation as social activism. By rehabbing vacant properties one at a time they're hoping to turn around a city.

November 8 - The New York Times

Great streets don't come cheap. From bike lanes to planters to special signage, it takes more than curbs and concrete to make a nice street. The Grid itemizes what it costs to outfit a specific intersection in Toronto's St. Clair West neighborhood.

November 7 - The Grid

In one of the world's most desirable cities, even the most unattractive and leftover spaces carry the potential for regeneration. An exhibit staged in Somerset House's own forgotten space shares innovative ideas to transform London's lesser places.

November 7 - Untapped Cities

Late last week, Chicago Department of Transportation head Gabe Klein announced that he would be resigning to return to the private sector. During his two and a half years on the job, the city made impressive gains in sustainable transportation.

November 7 - Chi.Streetsblog

Though meant to unite, bridges can be divisive structures. What should a bridge really be? Does clever design matter, or is it all about function? Here are 20 bridges from around the world that stand out as interesting, if not always functional.

November 7 - Future Cities

A fleet of 100 self-driving pod cars are set to appear on the streets of the English town of Milton Keynes by 2015.

November 7 - The Daily Mail

With 30 projects totaling nearly 3 million square feet of development in the pipeline, L.A.'s famously laid-back neighbor is in for an intense period of growth. Will new development enhance or alter the city's alluring character?

November 7 - Los Angeles Times

BLOG POST

One way to address traffic congestion is to provide a bypass for vehicles around city traffic machinations. Ring roads, by definition, are meant to perform that function. In reality, they ignore the supply and demand model of traffic management.

November 7 - Steven Snell

Fracking bans passed overwhelmingly in the Front Range cities of Boulder, Fort Collins and Lafayette but appeared to be losing by a mere 248 votes in Broomfield as of 11 p.m. on election night.

November 7 - The Denver Post

Two years after the historic Walter Reed Army Medical Center closed its doors, the transformation of one of the city's prime development parcels took a giant leap forward this week with the selection of Hines Interests to lead the redevelopment.

November 7 - The Washington Post

Walk Score has released its 2014 ranking of Most Walkable U.S. Cities and Neighborhoods. Though New York's position at the top of the list would be easy to explain, one surprise made the top five.

November 7 - Walk Score

If you liked the pace of development during the Bloomberg administration, you're going to love Bill de Blasio. Development-related revenues will be necessary to fund the new mayor's priorities and inherited challenges explains Josh Barro.

November 7 - Business Insider

FEATURE

By analyzing the areas of expertise and interests of 851 undergraduate and graduate planning faculty members, Tom Sanchez investigates what planning is, what it is not, and what it could be.

November 6 - Thomas Sanchez

Sustainable transportation in Seattle, a streetcar in Cincinnati and an Astrodome in Houston were among the policies and projects at stake in local elections across the U.S. yesterday. Here are some of the winners and losers.

November 6 - DC.Streetsblog

Not just anyone can (legally) perform for the millions of passengers who ply Paris's mammoth subway system every day. Liz Alderman looks at the competitive process to land a highly coveted, and potentially lucrative, permit to play Paris Métro.

November 6 - The New York Times

Could Los Angeles get a private company to spend $3 billion to $5 billion to connect every residence and business in the city to a fiber broadband network? City leaders seem to think so, and are planning to move forward with an RFP.

November 6 - Ars Technica