The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Lonely Planet has just released a book highlighting the "1,000 Ultimate Sites." ASLA looks inside, and marvels at the natural scenery and the ways humans have chosen to frame them.

September 16 - ASLA's The Dirt blog

Earlier this week, New York City officials announced a new bikeshare system that will be available to New Yorkers in 2012.

September 16 - TheCityFix.com

Galina Tachieva of DPZ argues that targeting mortgage interest deductions to benefit infill development and denser living would be an effective way to fight sprawl.

September 16 - Galina Tachieva

Veteran planner Bill Fulton looks back on a quarter-century of planning in California and finds distressingly little energy or spirit.

September 16 - California Planning & Development Report

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal"> During these harsh economic times I’ve read about some of the most creative and inspiring planning and design projects in my career. Whether they are the product of the underemployed looking for a creative outlet or a resetting of our values and goals, something magical is happening in the world of planning. Below are 5 things that have inspired my inner planner. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp; </p>

September 15 - Melissa Hege

Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the NEA, has long make the link between the arts and economic development. He is one of the big hitters behind ArtPlace, a public-private collaboration to foster creative placemaking.

September 15 - ArtPlace

The megaretailer is part of a trend to rethink and shrink stores, as big boxes around the country have seen their sales plummet.

September 15 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Arguing against a regional transportation tax, the Georgia Tea Party says that we shouldn't build any more light rail because terrorists might see it as an attractive target.

September 15 - Treehugger

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, came through with his promise to stop the clean extension of the transportation bill - and extension of the fed. gas tax, over the inclusion of what are known as 'enhancements' including bike/ped/livability programs.

September 15 - Steetsblog Capitol Hill

Lee County, Florida saw a 30% increase in its homeless population. A new shelter system that addresses mental health and addiction problems is helping keep homeless out of jail and on the right track.

September 15 - Governing Magazine

FEATURE

September 15 - Tim Halbur

BLOG POST

<p> &nbsp; </p> <p style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px" class="ecxMsoNormal"> It is conventional wisdom in some circles that “comprehensive planning” and sprawl are polar opposites- that planning is the enemy of sprawl. </p> <p style="line-height: 17px; margin: 0px" class="ecxMsoNormal"> But in fact, a comprehensive plan is almost as likely as a zoning code to be pro-sprawl.<span style="line-height: 17px">  </span>Many of the land use policies that make suburbs automobile-dependent (such as wide roads, long blocks, low density, single-use zoning, etc.) can just as easily be found in a comprehensive plan.  </p>

September 15 - Michael Lewyn

Travel+Leisure polls its readers for the best cities for foodies, with New Orleans taking the top spot.

September 15 - Travel+Leisure

Single occupant electric vehicles retained access to carpool lanes in California, while hybrid owners lost it on July 1st.

September 15 - Los Angeles Times: Environment

In four New York City Council districts, residents will soon be able to propose and vote on capital projects to be funded by councilmember's budgets.

September 15 - New York Times

Phil Taylor of the New York Times writes about an ensuing battle between a Montana wind power transmission project, backed by eminent domain rights, and Montana landowners, fighting for cultural conservation of their land.

September 15 - The New York Times

In the '00s, housing built around golf courses was all the rage. Stephanie Simon reports that today's consumer wants to live next to an organic farm, vineyard or other micro-rural setting.

September 14 - The Wall St. Journal

A recent study found that a city could completely live off food grown from urban agriculture. Sharanbir Grewal, the study's author, discovered in his analysis of Cleveland that the city could produce up to 48 percent of the city's fresh produce.

September 14 - Smart Planet

Montecillo, a 293-acre 'urban village', is the first development to take advantage of El Paso's new Smart Code. The project launched in May, and the developer is already preparing to get Phase 2 off the ground.

September 14 - El Paso Inc.

San Francisco has made steps to avert cars from Market Street, but the next steps to alleviate congestion are vague. A gradual rollout of trial experiments to gauge a method's success seems the most likely answer, reports Rachel Gordon.

September 14 - San Francisco Chronicle