The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

According to this piece from CivSource, US cities have fallen considerably behind other developed world cities when it comes to broadband accessibility. The influence of private sector "incumbents" is to blame, writes the author.

July 15 - CivSource

On Wednesday, LA Metro started the process of soliciting proposals for the redevelopment of the 42 acres of land it owns around Union Station.

July 15 - The Architect's Newspaper

2010 Census offers telling evidence of America's shifting demographics. Diana Olick of CNBC contextualizes the new U.S. household data in terms of real estate development.

July 15 - CNBC

In a piece from <em>The Atlantic</em> Richard Florida discusses the factors that shape Americans' commuting patterns. Some of his assertions are counter to commonly accepted explanations for commuting behaviors.

July 15 - The Atlantic

Beachside Santa Monica recently launched an ambitious Land Use and Circulation Element, which will balance growth, neighborhoods, and traffic. The plan has received accolades, and the city has become a model for consensus-based planning.

July 15 - The Planning Report

Washington state fulfills its share of the West Coast Green Highway initiative by installing nine fast-charging stations for electric cars along the 580-mile Interstate 5 corridor from Oregon to Canada.

July 14 - The Washington Post

When "peak car use" is reached, the only way to go is down, claim Australian scholars Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy. They say we're already there - between 1995 to 2000, per capita VMT in some major cities around the world decreased.

July 14 - The Infrastructurist

Preservation will have to include a more diverse and multi-ethnic population in order to stay relevant, writes Kenneth Caldwell for The Architect's Newspaper.

July 14 - The Architect's Newspaper

Berlin, Brussels or Bruges? Against the backdrop of an ongoing debt crisis, planning pundits deliberate on which European city is the true "dynamic center of Europe."

July 14 - The New York Times

In the Brookings Institute's pulse check on the nation's clean economy, researchers found that most of the country's clean economy jobs and recent growth were held in the largest metropolitan areas.

July 14 - The Brookings Institute

Shanghai in its 12th Five-Year Plan is modeling seven new satellite cities as suburbs to alleviate the density in the city center, reports Yu Ran, China Daily.

July 14 - Chila Daily

A new Canadian study should be of interest to any urban cyclist concerned about his/her health. The study shows what is apparent to most cyclists already - smoking tailpipes, especially from diesel trucks and buses, can have serious health impacts.

July 14 - Environmental Health News via San Francisco Chronicle

With unemployment numbers falling, jobs are on the rise in some rural parts of the country.

July 14 - The Daily Yonder

A new book looks into the history of the transcontinental railroads and how the corrupt connection between politics and business helped spread the American economy to the West.

July 14 - NPR

Since the release of House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica's proposed $230 billion surface-transportation bill, reviews have been mostly negative. <em>National Journal</em> asks its panel of experts for their take.

July 14 - National Journal

As the San Diego Planning Department folds into another department to save city money, locals and former officials grapple with whether it was the right move and how the city could change as a result.

July 13 - The Architect's Newspaper

Climate Central intern Ruthie Nachmany writes how one conference on energy envisions individuals taking a role in being energy efficient, while another conference prefers cities creating systems that can lead to energy efficiency.

July 13 - Climate Central

HafenCity, a neighborhood in the Hamburg docklands, is sprouting into a model redevelopment project by caring for the human element and adapting the port's cultural history into the physical landscape.

July 13 - Mother Nature Network

Australia's first term prime minister Julia Gillard announced a carbon tax that will charge $23 per metric ton. Though Australia is one of the world's top carbon polluters, the program will start next year, reports Sarah Laskow, GOOD Magazine.

July 13 - GOOD Magazine

Federal officials are being sent to work in six cities including Detroit, Cleveland and New Orleans to help coordinate local officials to "tap federal funds and leverage local and regional resources," The Wall Street Journal's Sharon Terlep reports.

July 13 - The Wall Street Journal