The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

<p>As 189 nations meet in Kenya to discuss climate change and rising sea levels, a group of scientists has released a report calling for nations to begin planning now for the devastating effects of rising sea levels, especially in coastal areas.</p>

November 14 - Environmental News Network

<p>A new bill passed by the Australian Parliament appears at first to offer protection to environmentally sensitive lands is actually little more than a carbon-trading system for land that helps development on sensitive lands overstep environmental review.</p>

November 14 - The Sydney Morning Herald

<p>With more than 1.6 million Britons living in high-risk flood areas -- a number expected to double or even triple within 75 years -- lawmakers and environmentalists are looking for safer ways to house people on floodplains.</p>

November 14 - Times of London

<p>In Orange County, California, a proposed toll road may not ease congestion on Interstate 5, as originally intended.</p>

November 14 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>A group of urban experts has released a plan to keep Geneva at the forefront of international affairs and governance. Included in the plan is a call to ensure the city's compatibility with technology and information media.</p>

November 14 - SwissInfo

<p>Technology such as Google Earth is dramatically transforming how the public perceives architecture and how architects design buildings.</p>

November 13 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>Industry observers are linking the emergence of place-based 3-D virtual worlds like Second Life, to the next generation of the Internet. IBM is the first major forunte 500 company to make a major investment in the technology.</p>

November 13 - eWeek

<p>The idea of mixed-use public libraries with housing on top is catching on in New York City and elsewhere.</p>

November 13 - The New York Times

<p>With growing doubt over the economic development potential for major league teams, Seattle is the latest city to reject public financing for a professional sports venue.</p>

November 13 - The New York Times

<p>Moving communities that lie in high hazard areas seems logical, but someone has to pay the bill.</p>

November 13 - The New York Times

<p>After 100 years, progress marches on to bulldoze the suburban St. Louis neighborhood of Hadley Township.</p>

November 13 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

<p>In Georgetown, a student party house seeks recognition as a religious organization to get around zoning restrictions.</p>

November 13 - The Washington Post

FEATURE

American cities suffer from outdated infrastructure that inhibits the local economy and quality of life. Those cities that can evolve to meet the needs of the information age will be the ones to prosper immensely in the next 10-20 years.

November 13 - Neil Takemoto, Mike Lydon

<p>These renderings for a new project in Denmark show how towers and open space combine to promote mass transit and reject old-fashioned ideas about monolithic design.</p>

November 13 - Streetsblog

<p>The University of Minnesota has announced plans to make use of 7,800 acres of open land by creating a utopian community laboratory, with housing for 20,000-30,000 people and an integration of agriculture, commercial space, public transit and open space.</p>

November 13 - Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune

<p>The Solaire, the first residential high-rise to earn “LEED Gold” status, is not just a premier environmentally friendly building—it’s also a big moneymaker.</p>

November 12 - The Globe and Mail

<p>Depsite a change in local laws that let businesses stay open 90 minutes later, few businesses in the northwestern Swiss city of Basel have extended hours, worrying officials that their idea of creating the "largest shopping center in the region" has fallen short.</p>

November 12 - Basler Zeitung

<p>An agreement has been reached between 18 countries to move forward on a long-sought plan to connect railways between Singapore and Turkey, creating a vast network expected to boost the economies of currently remote areas.</p>

November 12 - Armenia Liberty

<p>In Romania, construction of infrastructure was formerly a slow and inefficient process that left many in the country without access to basic needs like water and roads. But now, construction has picked up and the country's services have vastly improved.</p>

November 12 - The Diplomat Bucharest

<p>New development plans for the city center of the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik have city officials and residents looking optimistically towards a rebirth of a declining local economy.</p>

November 12 - The Reykjavik Grapevine