The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

With a housing market full of new condos and converted loft buildings, Chicago is becoming a popular place to purchase a vacation home.

July 10 - The New York Times

Bogota, Colombia's bus rapid transit system is seen as a shining example of how buses can make up a good public transportation system in cities. It's also being looked at as a model for fighting climate change.

July 10 - The New York Times

Several communities in South Florida are suing the state government over the recent passage of a law that allows exurban development to occur even if there is no adequate transportation infrastructure in place.

July 10 - The Miami Herald

The new public plazas in New York City have gained much popularity among locals -- and earned much money for the city. Officials have been renting out the spaces to advertisers, blurring the lines between public and private.

July 10 - The New York Times

Fountains are highly effective at attracting shoppers, say retail operators REIT Macerich. Their annual survey of 7,000 shoppers says that shoppers connect fountains with a positive shopping experience.

July 10 - Retail Traffic Magazine

The housing boom has busted in a tiny village in the West African country of Guinea, where homebuilders had constructed rows of new mud houses in hopes of cashing in on the rising demand for housing and its rising costs. Now, they sit empty.

July 10 - The Wall Street Journal

The Los Angeles Police Department's crime-tracking website has been omitting thousands of violent crimes. 40% of crimes reported so far in 2009 are not included in the public website.

July 10 - Los Angeles Times

Telecommuting should be considered an aspect of transportation, according to this piece from <em>New Geography</em>.

July 10 - New Geography

Homelessness has jumped in the nation's suburban areas, according to a study from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Of those in U.S. shelters, 32% are in rural or suburban areas.

July 9 - USA Today

Less than half of the money set aside in the federal stimulus plan for transportation projects is going to cities, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

July 9 - The New York Times

In Austin, TX, a planned transit-oriented development went bust. The new developer is taking the density down from 1,200 homes to "plus or minus 700."

July 9 - Austin American-Statesman

A New Jersey Burger King will soon be a test site for motion energy-generation technology. Drive-thru patrons will depress panels, creating kinetic energy which can be turned into electricity.

July 9 - autobloggreen.com

A central component of the Pickens' Plan for freedom from foreign oil was the creation of the world's largest wind farm in Texas. This week, T. Boone announced that he won't be building it after all.

July 9 - The New York Times

In this review of James Lovelock's new book "The Vanishing Face of Gaia", Alexander Zaitchik explains the author's view that, while nothing can be done to stop climate change, there is reason to believe that some form of civilization will survive.

July 9 - AlterNet

FEATURE

Bulldoze? Densify? Walk away? There are many ways cities can react to shrinking populations and abandoned neighborhoods. Planetizen readers decide which ways are the best.

July 9 - Nate Berg

As oil prices rise, so does the cost of asphalt. Concrete, historically more expensive, is now becoming a viable cost competitor. Because of its lighter shade, its also been shown to contribute less to climate change.

July 9 - The Infrastructurist

The recently passed House climate bill only dedicates 1 percent of funding to public transportation projects. Some are arguing that needs to be increased when the bill heads to the Senate.

July 9 - The Washington Independent

As the city of Charleston, SC works to develop a plan to guide future development along the eastern end of Calhoun Street from Marion Square to the SC Aquarium, preservationists express concerns about possible new guidelines.

July 9 - The Post & Courier

The NRDC reveals the most sustainable large, medium and small cities in the U.S., after an extensive evaluation based on air quality, energy production and conservation, environmental standards, recycling and many more criteria.

July 9 - Smarter Cities

BLOG POST

<p> Everybody knows that most, if not all, of downtown businesses&#39; customers arrive by car.  So it&#39;s intuitive to try to come up with a way to encourage drivers - who normally wouldn&#39;t venture downtown - to hop into their rides and cruise on down to Main Street to shop for wares.  If we could do this, just think of all the new business we&#39;d be stimulating!  In continuing with this logic, it&#39;s also a given that it&#39;s impossible for would-be customers to actually get to downtown without the essential <em>attaché</em> to driving, gasoline.  So, isn&#39;t it therefore intuitive to suggest that if cities were to give away a little bit of gas to each customer – you know, to kind-of thank them for their generosity - then customers would find an overwhelming incentiv

July 8 - Ian Sacs