The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Jonathan Kaiman takes a look at a new hotel in China's Hunan Province that's pushing the envelope of how quickly high-rise buildings can be constructed – and raising eyebrows, and safety concerns, in the process.

March 9 - Los Angeles Times

Shriya Malhotra explores the potential for participatory mapping to manage the complexities of cities in the 21st century.

March 9 - The City Fix

Mimi Zeiger pens a contrarian's take on the growing popularity of DIY urbanism, noting the danger in what she deems a conservative urban-planning position.

March 9 - LAB|log

Matt Bevilacqua reports on the new wind in manufacturing's sails.

March 9 - Next American City

Eric Jaffe reports on the growing use of "health impact assessments" (HIA), which are used in a similar fashion to environmental reviews, to determine the public health side effects of major projects.

March 9 - The Atlantic Cities

A series of stunning photo comparisons in <em>The Washington Post</em> and <em>The New York Times</em> document the magnitude of destruction unleashed by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and the steps achieved to date towards recovery.

March 9 - The Washington Post

After a two-year effort, the City of El Paso adopted a new comprehensive plan this week. Based on smart growth and sustainability principles, author Kaid Benfield calls it "among the best, most articulate comprehensive plans" he's ever seen.

March 8 - Switchboard

Anyone who's seen Google's homepage doodle today may be aware that it's International Women's Day. C.C. Sullivan has taken the day as an opportunity to celebrate women in architecture and to highlight related events taking place.

March 8 - SmartPlanet

Blair Kamin argues for the need for new Mayor Rahm Emanuel to carry on the enlightened relationship with design established by his predecessor, former Mayor Richard M. Daley, especially in light of recently announced initiatives.

March 8 - Chicago Tribune

Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg interviews Gwenaëlle Gobé, director of a new film called <em>This Space Available</em>, which seeks to document the rise of "visual pollution" and those who are fighting to stop it.

March 8 - The Atlantic

<em>The Economist</em> reports on what Europe's tanking carbon market means for efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the continent.

March 8 - The Economist

Wage inequality does not tell the whole picture of the growing income inequality in the United States, writes Richard Florida, who examines the myriad other factors that may be driving this trend.

March 8 - The Atlantic Cities

Despite last minute wrangling, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission unanimously adopted the Master Plan for the Central Delaware Waterfront on Tuesday, with the promise of creating new recreational and green space and spurring economic growth.

March 8 - Plan Philly

With less than two months under his belt as the new chairman of the High Speed Rail Authority, Dan Richard has made significant shifts in strategy for the project and is generating optimism for a fresh start, reports Ken Orski.

March 8 - Infrastructure USA

Here is a list you presumably do not want to find your city on: the most obese metro areas in the country. Dan Witters breaks down the results that Gallup has recently released as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

March 8 - Gallup Wellbeing

David Alpert tamps down the recent enthusiasm for the coming age of the self-driving car by asking what its impact will be on pedestrians and street life.

March 8 - The Atlantic Cities

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook'">In <em>For A New Liberty</em>, libertarian intellectual Murray Rothbard writes that leftist intellectuals had raised a variety of complaints against capitalism, and that &quot;each of those complaints has been contradictory to one or more of their predecessors.”  In the 1930s, leftists argued that capitalism was prone to ‘eternal stagnation”, while in the 1960s, they argued that capitalist economies had “grown too much” causing “excessive affluence” and exhaustion of the world’s resources.  And so on. </span> </p>

March 7 - Michael Lewyn

The short answer is yes, according to this NPR report that includes interviews with energy experts. The boom in shale fracking for oil and natural gas and the zeal of small energy companies is to credit. But UC Berkeley's Don Kammen has his doubts.

March 7 - NPR

Giovanna Borasi & Mirko Zardini examine the state of pervasive anxiety afflicting the urban populations of the West and how "medicalization" and an ambition for total well-being are effecting architecture and urban planning.

March 7 - Places

Caren Chesler reports on Atlantic City's efforts to reinvent itself as a seaside resort, as recently unveiled in a master plan developed by Jones Lang LaSalle with the Jerde Partnership.

March 7 - Next American City