The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The White House is setting forth on its long-planned mission to craft a federal urban policy program. The effort kicks off with a daylong conference today.

July 13 - The Washington Post

According to a new draft master plan, the Clairborne Expressway may be the next freeway to join the nation's growing highway to boulevard movement.

July 13 - The Times-Picayune

The Portuguese Coast is one of the most energetic in the world, and is the first country to have a commercial-scale wave energy device in the water. Now, they're planning a "pilot zone" for expanding the technology.

July 13 - Renewable Energy World

Officials in New Mexico, Colorado and Texas are pooling efforts to try to secure federal funding for a high speed rail link between their urban areas.

July 13 - The Houston Chronicle

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has said he wants to bring park programs back into the lives of urban dwellers. This piece argues that a good place for him to start is one of the few urban national parks at St. Louis' Gateway Arch.

July 13 - STL Today

Light rail is seen as a golden opportunity to revive inner cities. Not so fast, argues Alan Hoffman.

July 13 - Citiwire

FEATURE

Opinions are flying in the debate over whether or not ailing cities like Detroit should bulldoze their empty neighborhoods. John Kromer of the Fels Institute of Government adds a rational note with this op-ed, explaining what The Flint Model for shrinking cities actually entails.

July 13 - John Kromer

Abandoned and foreclosed properties are plaguing many cities. Now some are trying to turn the blight into prosperity by creating land banks to hold, remodel or demolish the properties -- and pull in some revenue while they're at it.

July 13 - USA Today

A New Zealand inventor has built a track for the world's first human-powered monorail called the Shweeb as part of an amusement park [Video]

July 12 - CTV

London's iconic red double-decker buses are going green.

July 12 - Wired

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has issued a directive that seeks to mandate healthy eating and food production in the city.

July 12 - San Francisco Chronicle

Michael Jackson's life would have been incredibly different (read: more normal) and lasted longer if he lived in New York instead of L.A., argues Gigi Levangie Grazer. She says the isolating qualities of L.A. enabled the downfall of the King of Pop.

July 12 - The Huffington Post

Budget issues are causing major issues for a handful of states. Neal Peirce argues these budget woes are a sign that states are making the wrong investments and that they idea of a state may be out of date.

July 12 - Citiwire

The posh San Francisco Bay Area town of Tiburon is planning to install cameras that record the license plate numbers of all cars coming into town. Police will use the system to apprehend criminals or investigate crimes.

July 11 - San Francisco Chronicle

The "smart" grid powered by renewable energy sources is likely to be fundamentally different from the current electricity system in more ways than one. Some say it won't be as large-scale as it is now. That's not what utility companies want to hear.

July 11 - Fast Company

Columnist Frank Gruber seeks to define an urbanism separate from New Urbanism, Post-Urbanism, and 'Everyday' Urbanism: what he calls "Cityism."

July 11 - The Huffington Post

Citing the important role they tend to play in storylines, the <em>Architects' Journal</em> lists off the top 10 cities from comic books.

July 11 - Architects' Journal

A Russian manufacturer has announced plans to build a nuclear energy plant on a floating platform near the Bering Sea.

July 11 - The New York Times

Artists in Brooklyn are filling a void by converting construction dumpsters into swimming pools.

July 10 - Ready Made

While it didn't transform personal mobility and lead to the redesign of urban areas, the Segway has found some unexpected forms of popularity.

July 10 - Slate.com