The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The rapid growth of cities is causing concern amongst experts over the effects of urban sprawl. There are 19 megacities in the world today, and 10 more will rise in the next 30 years, reports Marcus Moretti for Yale Daily News.

September 7 - Yale Daily News

BLOG POST

<p> Summer travel took me out of the US and back to Sweden for the first time in five years.  While my initial reaction was that things seemed much the same, I quickly realized that the Swedes had quietly pushed forward a number of projects that, if located in the US, would be on the vanguard of sustainability.  But over there it&#39;s just called urban planning. </p>

September 7 - Walker Wells

Cargohopper is a transportation system in Utrecht, the fourth largest Dutch city, that aims to replace freight trucks entering the city core. Electric trucks powered by solar panels take cargo from freight trucks to retailers in the city.

September 7 - Treehugger

With development-friendly reform sweeping through planning in the U.K., English Heritage is concerned the historic sites and greenfields will get swept away with little to no process.

September 7 - The Telegraph

GOOD compiles a subjective list of the best cities to live a decent life cheaply while you wait for the jobs to reappear. Austin tops the list of "artsy, cheap, liberal oases."

September 7 - GOOD Magazine

BLOG POST

<p> We all remember that day: How we first heard, whom we were with, how we felt as we watched an iconic American cityscape transformed into a burning, toxic wreckage, knowing that  thousands were surely dead, many never to be found. We can all too easily recall how our disbelief quickly turned to horror, sadness and then fear – a fear that the world was now a fundamentally different place, and what that would mean for ourselves and our children.<br /> <br />

September 7 - Michael Dudley

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, Fast Company's Boyd Cohen writes how New York City's preparedness for Hurricane's should include enhancing infrastructure in things like the Internet and transit.

September 7 - Fast Company

Beckholmen, an island off Stockholm, has been an industrial and shipping center since the 1600s. Today, the city is looking at ways to revitalize the island while preserving the industry that has dominated it for so long.

September 7 - POLIS

Washington D.C. drivers are the most accident prone out of 200 largest U.S. cities, according to a study by Allstate Insurance Co. The greater a cities population increases the chance of drivers getting into accidents.

September 7 - Forbes

The Globe and Mail looks at the revival of Lower Manhattan since the 9/11 attacks, in terms of being a both a great residential and business environment.

September 6 - Globe and Mail

Bolivia took two million cars off the street in nine cities during the "National Day of the Pedestrian." The event arrived when President Evo Morales' government plans to build a highway through the Amazon rainforest, the BBC reports.

September 6 - BBC

It may not be apparent to American motorists, but the U.S. oil refinery industry is ailing. Reduced VMT, mandated ethanol use, and escalating vehicle fuel efficiency standards caused a decrease of gasoline consumed. Diesel may revive the industry.

September 6 - Houston Chroncle

James S. Russell walks the new memorial at the World Trade Center site, and finds it "a place of quiet dignity" that is saddled with an unnecessary $300 million museum and visitors center.

September 6 - Bloomberg

While the South is king when it comes to exurbs (low density, with workers who mostly commute to an urban area), the exurban experience has many faces, including small town New England.

September 6 - Places

After complaints about blocking the sidewalk and creating litter, the City of Istanbul has been cracking down on street dining, gutting the food industry in the process.

September 6 - The Guardian U.K.

With the not-so-secret understanding that white people are much more likely to bike, some ethnic minorities in Portland, Oregon see the coming of a bike lane through their neighborhood as a fast lane to gentrification.

September 6 - Shareable

Grey Park in Evanston, Illinois is used primarily by mentally ill residents of a nearby facility, who make the space uncomfortable for the general public. A community group brought in food trucks, and everyone came together over cupcakes.

September 6 - Project for Public Spaces blog

The debate may be as old as the first environmental regulation on the federal books - do regulations kill jobs? Fresh from a Sept. 2 victory over EPA's attempt to strengthen smog regulations,Republicans will continue the effort to reduce regulations

September 6 - The New York Times - Business Day

Part of Buffalo, New York's decline, writes Amy Kedron, involved a shift from local to non-local ownership of businesses. A movement is afoot to encourage businesses to "Think Local First."

September 5 - Next American City

Martin C. Pedersen says New Orleans' recovery is far from over in the Ninth Ward, even with the efforts of groups like Brad Pitt's Make it Right Foundation.

September 5 - Metropolis Magazine