The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
"Environmental Architecture" at its Finest
Sarah Williams Goldhagen profiles The Sea Ranch; despite its failure as an alternative to suburban sprawl, it is considered a model for its environmentally sensitive, "sublimely beautiful" development.
Train Cars Recycle Kinetic Energy
A subway in Warsaw, Poland now features a system that captures the energy created by braking train cars for reuse elsewhere in the system.
Assessing Asia's Brand New Cities
In this piece, Greg Lindsay take a cautiously optimistic stance on whether or not from-scratch Asian cities are the way to address urban overpopulation.
Urban Farms Tax Breaks Bill Killed
Baltimore's City Council has voted to not approve a bill that would provide non-profit urban farmers tax breaks, leaving some officials steamed.
East Bay County Proposes Half-Cent Transportation Sales Tax
The newly formed Alameda County Transportation Commission is proposing a permanent, half-cent sales tax be placed on before the voters of the second most populous Bay Area county for the Nov. 2012 ballot for a variety of transportation purposes.
Vacant Historic Hotel to be Reused as Transitional Housing
Plans for the transformation of the art deco Viceroy Hotel date back to the Daley administration. The project will be financed by both state funds and the current mayor's revamped tax-increment financing program.
New Yorkers Can't Get to New Jobs
A new report from the Center for an Urban Future says that Manhattan's boroughs have been booming but transit hasn't caught up, leaving a lot of residents without access to jobs.
Untruths About a Gas Tax
The Carnegie Endowment's Shin-pei Tsay and Deborah Gordon expose five common myths and reveal three important facts on the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and present their solution to maintaining and improving America’s transportation infrastructure.
Architects Partner Up with Habitat for Humanity
Public Architecture, a San Francisco-based organization, and Habitat for Humanity have tapped a Kansas City Architecture firm to pilot green design concepts for the new houses. This project is just one of five nationwide.
Architect Defends Wind-Damaged Airport
With parts of its roof being blown off by strong wind, one architect has defended his work on Beijing's newest airport, blaming poor building material choices rather than the overall design.
From Foreclosed Home to Pocket Park
The city of Pacoima, CA is going ahead with a new program that transforms foreclosed homes into pocket parks. Vacant lots are being considered in addition to 10 foreclosed sites.
Defending Modernism and Ignoring Preservation
A new book called The Lure of the City argues that planners today have "a lack of ambition" and argues against the "[Jane] Jacobs-influenced orthodoxy."
Street Artist Makes Infrastructure Invisible
Street artist Cayetano Ferrer likes to take everyday urban objects like street signs or electrical boxes and use paint and stickers to camoflage them so they basically disappear.
Restoration? More Like Rehabilitation...
Minneapolis' Peavey Plaza, designed in the heady early 70s, is a sunken design with waterfalls. The site has not aged well, and the landscape architect tasked with fixing the situation is taking significant steps to improve it.
Another Billion Dollars Awarded to CA HSR
Per a USDOT press release on Monday, Secretary LaHood has OK'd an additional $928.6 million in funding for California high speed rail, keeping the funds out of reach from state Republicans who'd rather the money go to highway construction.
Does "Doubling Up" Mean "Homeless"?
It's becoming increasingly common for adults to "double" up with other households, indicating that the recession is still affecting families. But are they officially homeless? It depends on who you ask, of course. Emily Badger reports.
Latin America's Most Competitive Cities
Brazilian cities dominated the list compiled by AméricaEconomía. Many traditional Brazilian metropolises rose in the list, while many of its B-level cities like Campinas (20th) and Manaus (29th) were included for the first time.
Proposal Dreams of New York Development Connecting Island to Mainland
The Center for Urban Real Estate unveiled a proposal to connect Lower Manhattan and Governors Island with landfill to spur development in the area. The connection would generate $16.7 billion of revenue for the city, the center estimates.
Spanish Cities Saddled with Half-Completed Infrastructure Projects
Marc Herman writes that cities in Spain used the housing bubble as a way to finance major infrastructure projects that now, after the real estate crash, they really can't afford.
Pile-Up on the Trans-Texas Corridor
What happened to the Trans-Texas Corridor, the 10-lane, privately-funded toll road/high-speed train/fiberoptic cable-laden highway to the 21st century promised by Rick Perry in 2002?
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
