The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
VIA Clashes With San Antonio City Council Over Wireless Streetcar Plan
VIA Metropolitan Transit Company met with the city council regarding future plans involving a new streetcar line. According to Vianna Davila, "VIA must drastically change its streetcar proposal if it wants the city to help pay for the project."
Public Space Ordinances Used to Target Occupy Wall Street
Across the country, local authorities are turning to existing public space ordinances -- many of them oriented to criminalizing homelessness -- to clamp down on the Occupy Wall Street Movement.
Facebook's New App Allows Users to Track Their Household Energy Consumption
In early 2012, Facebook will launch a yet-to-be-named app that will allow 800 million users to access home energy usage information provided by their utility company. This 'Social Energy Application' will help users manage their energy.
Electric DeLorean Scheduled to Hit Streets in 2013
DeLorean Motor Company has not only resurrected that iconic car many remember from 'Back to the Future,' but have made it a true car from the future. The 2013 DMC-12 EV will run on lithium-ion batteries, making it fully electric.
$2 Congestion Fee When Parking In Downtown Chicago
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to use congestion fees to help fund a new rail station and the city's first bus rapid transit line. Anyone parking in a downtown lot will be required to pay an additional $2 on top of the existing parking fee.
Will There Be More Electric Charging Stations Than Cars To Plug-In?
Charging stations for electric cars are multiplying much faster than the plug-in vehicles that can use them for many reasons. While the federal subsidies help, some in the business community believe that the chargers will attract new customers.
How Would You Change the Zoning Code?
At last week's Municipal Art Society Summmit in New York City, one panel of experts attempted to answer just that. Neither overbearing zoning rules, contextual zoning, or the current environmental review process was left untouched.
The Roof as Living Room
Washington, D.C. residents are getting creative with their green roofs, writes Sarah Meehan, from keeping bees on them to hosting league bocce games. Even those without roof access might get lucky and have a view of one that's artfully designed.
No Other Way: Pricing Congestion to Stop Congestion
In a study published in this month’s American Economic Review, researchers contended that congestion pricing is the only solution to decrease congestion, writes Eric Jaffe for The Atlantic Cities.
New Documentary Film Shows How to be "Urbanized"
In this interview with Gary Hustwit, the director of the new documentary film "Urbanized", Charlotte West asks about the film-making process, social media and how the profiled cities were selected.
Can a Canadian Company Condemn Your Land?
TransCanada is trying to use eminent domain to obtain easements from unwilling landowners for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
NYC May Repeal Helmet Law to get More Bicyclists Riding
New York City is getting ready to roll out their bicycle share program and has decided not to require cyclists to wear helmets.
The Megarich 1% Live in New York
Well, a good percentage of them do, with 13% of the country's 57,860 ultra high net worth individuals living in NYC.
Portrait of a Neighborhood Razed by Robert Moses
Filmmaker Jim Epstein read "The Power Broker", the biography of Robert Moses, and set out to document one of the communities destroyed by Moses' urban renewal of the 1950s.
World's Most Expensive Home Goes Mostly Unused
Mukesh Ambani found himself the center of a lot of controversy with the 27-story residence he built last year in Mumbai, overlooking a sea of poverty. Vikas Bajaj reports that now that it is completed, the Ambani's hardly even use it.
The "People's Library" Boosts the Occupy Wall Street Movement
As the Occupy Wall Street movement grows, it is developing into a "mini society" complete with its own forms of community and institutions, including a public library.
Developers in Downtown, Cleveland are Turning to the Slots to Appeal to a New Crowd
Executives of Rock Gaming LLC and its partner, Caesars Entertainment Corp, are hoping to revitalize Cleveland's downtown nightlife and create connections with nearby businesses by building Horseshoe Casino Cleveland.
L.A. Finally Updates 37-Year Old Bike Plan
Not updated since 1975, and years in the making, Los Angeles County has finally released a Bike Master Plan, available now for review.
BLOG POST
Starbucks Initiative Could Brew Up Urban Vitality
<div> <br /> </div> <div> I am writing this missive from the living room of a Starbucks. Not that you'd care where I'm writing from. Except this time it's relevant. </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> Here on Montana Avenue, in Santa Monica, I'm joined by other folks who are also on their laptops, recovering from yoga, or just biding their time. The guy sitting at my table just sold a pilot to Fox. That's nice for him. A few weeks ago I sat next to Hillary Swank here. She's not hurting either. </div> <div> <br /> </div> <div> But others aren't so lucky. To its credit, Starbucks seems to want to do something about it. </div> <div> <br /> </div> <div>
The Challenge of City Branding
Branding a city, writes Scott Doyon, isn't as easy as creating a product brand. Cities already have identities, so a new brand can ring false if it isn't in harmony with reality. Case in point: Dunwoody, Georgia.
Ada County Highway District
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
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Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
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