The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
BLOG POST
“I Want TOD, But I Don’t Want Transit”
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Trebuchet MS" size="3">Last week I was at an interview for a potential real estate developer client who wanted transit-oriented development (TOD), but weren’t sure he wanted transit. This was a progressive developer who wanted more density, a mix-of uses and walkability. How could it be he wasn’t sure he wanted the planned transit line? Is it possible the developer had it right? </font></p>
The Grocery Store Every Community Wants
<p>The specialty grocery store chain Trader Joe's is often wooed by communities around California -- but the chain remains secretive about its location selection process.</p>
Colorado Toll Road Goes Private
<p>The Northwest Parkway Public Highway Authority, owner of Colorado's newest toll road (opened 2003), has finalized the bid for leasing the 11-mile road after revenue did not match expectations.</p>
As The Nation Grows, Jersey City Shows How To Deal
<p>Experiencing a rebound of smart growth and urban development, Jersey City, New Jersey, is becoming an example for other growing cities.</p>
The Home Depot 'Paints' Itself Green
<p>With stores in Canada already successfully selling its environmentally friendly products, the Home Depot looks to become the largest retailer of eco-friendly products in America.</p>
A Rising Sea Submerges River Delta Islands
<p>Rising sea levels devastates a community that is least prepared to deal with the devastating impacts of climate change.</p>
Ten Ideas For Fixing L.A.'s Traffic
<p>Transit experts Jim Moore, Don Shoup, Joel Kotkin, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, Ted Balaker, Joel Reynolds and Brian Taylor all offer suggestions on how to affordably fix Los Angeles' traffic problems.</p>
Does Solar Power For Your Home Make Financial Sense?
<p>At least for now, using solar panels to power your home may not help you save money.</p>
BLOG POST
Tips from Your National Park Service
<p class="MsoNormal"> In my hometown—and yours, too, I'm sure—a small, one-story house was for sale, and then it was gone. The guy who bought it promptly tore it down and then, because the new house he had designed was too big for the site, let the hole sit there for a year, a broken tooth in the 1950s neighborhood. Of course, the house he built was still too big for the lot, but there it stands, three feet from his seething neighbors: a McMansion. </p>
The Most Endangered River In The Nation
The Sante Fe River in New Mexico has been rated the most endangered river in the nation by the environmental group American Rivers.
As Funding Delays, Homeless Make Action
<p>Housing activists and protesters have continued to occupy buildings in Brazil as they wait for long-delayed government funding for housing.</p>
Top Ten U.S. Cities Using Renewable Energy
<p>Which of the largest 50 U.S. cities provide citizens with the highest percentage of power produced from renewable energy? SustainLane Government determined the percentage of each city's electricity that comes from renewables.</p>
BLOG POST
Boomer Megacities: Tokyo As a Barometer for the Developed World?
I had heard stories about this the last time I visited Japan in 2004, but this month's Tokyo city briefing from <i>The Economist </i> brought this trend back to my attention. It seems retiring boomers are abandoning their suburban bedroom communities to return to the metropolitan core - presumably to be near friends, cultural attractions, and other amenities (health care? education?). I've seen rumblings of this as well in the New York metro area.
New Thinking About Bicycles: 'Complete Streets'
<p>Louisville has adopted a "complete streets" policy which makes the provision of sidewalks, bike lanes and bus stops mandatory. Neal Peirce discusses the plan in his column, and offers some international examples.</p>
Thoreau's Walden May Become A Soccer Field
<p>This report from <em>NPR</em> looks at a Massachusetts school's efforts to build soccer fields in part of the forest Henry David Thoreau wrote about in his book Walden.</p>
$1.5 Billion Plan To Bring Hollywood To Austin
<p>An ambitious $1.5 billion mixed-use project announced recently in Austin, Texas, proposes to anchor a 681-acre development with sound stages and other media-focused infrastructure. Will this project die a slow death like similar efforts before it?</p>
Florida's Growing Tax Chasm
<p>Despite stunning similarities in property values, tax burdens vary greatly in southern Florida, causing fed-up residents to seek relief.</p>
The Link Between Impact Fees And Growth
<p>The city of Tuscon, Arizona is considering adding new impact fees to cover the cost of municipal services, but the new fees might stymie growth and encourage sprawl.</p>
Façade-ectomy No Substitute For Historic Preservation
<p>The controversial practice of demolishing all but the exterior of a historic building doesn't serve to preserve that past or encourage new architecture, argues architecture critic Blair Kamin.</p>
Getting 'Creative' To Protect Artists' Spaces
<p>A consultant's report recommends Atlanta codify the protection of artists' spaces in new zoning. Many cities are trying to redress the "Catch-22" of gentrification -- the displacement of artists from neighborhoods they helped turn around.</p>
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