The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Most cities don't get the chance to start from scratch. But Quincy, Mass. plans to raze most of its 50-acre center and build it anew with the aid of a private developer's upfront funding - a plan that may rewrite the rules of urban development.

April 11 - New York Times

CNU president John Norquist stars in this video from Streetfilms about the problem of inner-city highways and the steps some cities are taking to get rid of theirs.

April 11 - Streetfilms

Markus Berensson writes about the increasing need for regional governance that can make decisions, and the consequences to a region without that governing body.

April 11 - City Mayors

A new study in the U.K. says that extending the trailers on eighteen-wheelers could reduce the emissions from those vehicles by as much as 13 percent.

April 11 - AutoBlog

As reporter Robert J. Hawkins notes, "It's like 2008 all over again." Back then, skyrocketing gas prices sent people fleeing to use public transit. Today, the pattern remains the same, at least in San Diego.

April 11 - San Diego Union-Tribune

Parking guru Donald Shoup writes for the Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank, explaining why free markets and free parking go together.

April 10 - Cato Institute

Vinayak Bharne proposes that density is often achieved using blunt enforcement of crude tools like "floor-space index", when density can be much more subtly accomplished than just shooting up a tower.

April 10 - The Urban Vision

Richard Florida writes that population growth and wealth do not go hand in hand -- wealth comes from improvements in productivity. In fact, some of the areas with the biggest leaps in population are suffering real declines in wealth.

April 10 - Creative Class

Transit agencies brace for reduced ridership but will keep running -- for a little while, at least.

April 10 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

This review of data on bicycling shows shifts in who is biking in America, and how often. A key shift: whites aren't the only ones on two wheels.

April 10 - Grist

Officials in Washington tend to agree that infrastructure problems are in dire need of attention. But amid turbulent economic times, will those problems get that attention?

April 9 - National Journal

The tiny mideast country of Qatar is a new hotbed of infrastructure activity and foreign investment, leading some to suggest that it will be the next place to take off in the region.

April 9 - CNBC

This interactive map from <em>Forbes</em> shows, county by county, where Americans moved in 2008.

April 9 - Forbes

As the city of Los Angeles edges closer to approving the construction of a new sports stadium in downtown, this post from <em>Curbed LA</em> offers 10 suggestions on how the stadium could and should fit into the city.

April 9 - Curbed LA

This episode of <em>99% Invisible</em> explores public spaces and their role in political change, and how over hundreds of years, riots have defined New York's Tompkins Square Park -- despite efforts to design unrest out.

April 9 - 99% Invisible

Comedian Mark Malkoff set out to demonstrate the state of public bus transit in NYC by racing a city bus while riding a child's tricycle.

April 8 - Streets Blog

Buffalo is the emptiest city in the state of New York, with 15.7 percent of its housing standing vacant. The problem is spreading to the nearby suburbs.

April 8 - The Buffalo News

Elms, oaks and poplars- trees are an important part of our landscape, but their anonymity means that preservation can be challenging.

April 8 - The Cultural Landscape Foundation

The radio program Marketplace looks at the "fad" of form-based codes, and how this new tool encourages old-fashioned town building.

April 8 - Market Place (NPR)

Vancouver is expanding its city-approved downtown street food vending program, with a recently approved list of new vendors allowed to cook and sell food from carts on the street.

April 8 - Globe and Mail