The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Seeing an unfilled niche in the housing marketplace, developers in suburban Seattle are trying to build a communal housing development.

March 30 - Sustainable Industries

As cities like Detroit show major population losses in the enumeration of the 2010 Census, experts discuss why cities are shrinking on this episode of the <em>Diane Rehm Show</em>.

March 30 - The Diane Rehm Show

As cities grow, the spaces within them that are truly public diminish, according to this piece. But even with few public spaces, public activities can still thrive.

March 30 - The Wall Street Journal

As green spaces and public areas increase in demand, more and more projects are being awarded to landscape architects rather than architects, some foresee a potential professional turf war.

March 30 - The Architect's Newspaper

Manufacturing in the U.S. hasn't gone away, it's just gone local, writes Allison Arieff.

March 30 - The New York Times

A new proposal in front of the European Commission would put speed limits on the autobahn to reduce carbon emissions, and ban gasoline and diesel powered vehicles by the year 2050.

March 30 - Wired

Sustainable design and historic preservation design have sometimes been at odds. But a group of experts says these two goals can work together to improve building sustainability.

March 29 - Sustainable Cities Collective

Richard Florida says that shrinking is not necessarily a good idea for cities like Detroit and Cleveland that are losing population, and that it could do "more harm than good."

March 29 - The New York Times

Building sizes have been creeping upward for centuries, but green building expert Jason McLennan argues that smaller structures are better, more beautiful, and ecologically inevitable.

March 29 - Yes!

Rocco Pendola says chain stores are starting to adapt and move into downtown Los Angeles, following the population boom and setting a precedent for chain retail in downtowns across the U.S.

March 29 - Seeking Alpha

Could "timber skyscrapers" be in our future? Architects and engineers are seeing wood as a way to build sustainable 20-30 story structures with modern no-how.

March 29 - The Mark

The eastern Capital Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C. was 87% black in 2000: new Census figures show the black population is now only 44% and 47% white. The Wall St. Journal talks to people in this changing community.

March 29 - Washington Post

Transit planning consultant Jarrett Walker pools his readers' brains together to rough out what circumstances would need to be in place to create a truly transit-activated public space.

March 29 - Human Transit

Jay Walljasper reviews Pocket Neighborhoods: Creating a Small-Scale Community in a Large-Scale World by architect Ross Chapin. Chapin says groupings of four to twelve households make the best communities.

March 29 - Shareable

Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle and Rep. Tom Reed of New York are leading an effort to stop New York from receiving any federal funding for high-speed rail projects.

March 29 - Auburn Pub

As a part of its series on pressing issues that should inform the current Canadian federal election, the Globe and Mail examines how other cities around the world have undertaken affordable transportation innovations to ease traffic congestion.

March 29 - The Globe and Mail

Residential segregation has not gone away since the era of "white flight", says Prof. Thomas J. Sugrue of the University of Pennsylvania. New Census numbers confirm that African-Americans still get shunted into poor neighborhoods.

March 28 - The New York Times

Livejournal has posted a series of paintings that ran as part of a 1961 Motorola advertising campaign that depict a futuristic lifestyle and featuring cavernous modern living spaces.

March 28 - Livejournal

To kick off its Legacy Plan update process, the Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, NC planning board made a music video featuring an original song, a bluegrass band and some familiar scenes.

March 28 - Winston-Salem Journal

Stacy Passmore writes that public spaces "take on a different form and meaning in a West African city."

March 28 - re:place Magazine