The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Returning from CNU, James Howard Kunstler reacts to a NY Times article about California's high-speed rail plans, and reflects on New Urbanism's shift away from traditional-neighborhood developments and into preparing for the 'long emergency'.

June 23 - Kunstler.com

The new west wing of the Vancouver Convention Center(VCC) provides 338,000 square feet of new function spaces as well as an angular six acre green roof, which is the largest non-commercial roof in North America.

June 23 - The Architect's Newspaper

The economic downturn has halted many projects in Dubai, but the show's not over in the elaborate emirate. In fact, its patterns of development may even be spreading to other cities around the world.

June 23 - Los Angeles Times

Mayors from big cities are feeling shortchanged by the federal government, which they say is disproportionately handing out stimulus money to small and rural areas.

June 23 - Los Angeles Times

Neighbors of Dodger Stadium who are frustrated over game-day traffic and a lack of parking are trying to deal with the hordes of baseball fans by erecting fake signs.

June 23 - The Eastsider LA

The city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, will soon be one of the most watched cities in the world, with plans for 165 closed circuit cameras monitoring public spaces.

June 23 - Los Angeles Times

There are some arguments against speed cameras, but one says bicyclists are one of the major hazards on roadways.

June 23 - Wash Cycle

Struggling cities are increasingly looking at the idea of bulldozing vacant properties and "shrinking". But two columnists argue it might not be such a good idea.

June 23 - Citiwire

According to this op-ed, allowing cities to de-densify undermines the importance of the city's role in society at large--namely, as a breeding ground for technological and cultural innovation.

June 23 - Los Angeles Times

The Architect's Journal selects the most significant architecture and urban design from the Star Wars films.

June 23 - The Architect's Journal

BLOG POST

<p> I can’t deny that one of my strongest personality traits is that of being a hard-core cheapskate.  So much so, that I feel obliged to caveat this post by saying that my initial reasons for getting into rooftop gardening were more to save money on buying fresh vegetables and fruit from our rather pricey local markets than any particular affection for gardening.  While it turns out that my wife and I probably do save money (surprisingly, I never ran the numbers), the joy of gardening, and the kick I get out of showing our rooftop garden off to friends, has far outweighed the economic benefits.  As counter-intuitive as it sounds, urban gardening is much easier than you might imagine.  The hardest part is overcoming the psychological hurdle of thinking that it is difficult, confusing, time-consuming, or takes up lots of space.  In fact, it is none of these things; you don’t need expensive, special equipment, or any particular skill.  You only need a window box, a fire escape, or a small patch of patio if that’s all you have.  If this geeky transportation engineer can grow tomatoes, so can you!

June 22 - Ian Sacs

The loss of NY's Penn Station spurred an entire movement in historic preservation. But it was not an isolated incident- The Infrastructurist looks at 10 beautiful train stations that fell to the wrecking ball.

June 22 - The Infrastructurist

BLOG POST

<p> After visiting Denver for the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) conference, I began to meditate on the relationship between Judaism and urbanism, and on how few cities accommodate both. In particular, I was impressed by how well-populated downtown Denver was compared to the southern cities where I have spent the past three years (Jacksonville) and this summer (Little Rock) - but I stll couldn’t imagine myself living in downtown Denver all that comfortably. </p>

June 22 - Michael Lewyn

Obama Administration officials, speaking at a conference of real estate writers and editors, admitted that the housing crisis is far from over and administration efforts are taking time to have an effect.

June 22 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Texas Governor Rick Perry recently vetoed a bill that would have created a state level "smart growth" program.

June 22 - New Geography

Philadelphia's City Council has approved two new measures that would preserve historic buildings along the Delaware River and require 100 ft. green setbacks. Some developers are protesting the ruling, saying it amounts to an illegal taking.

June 22 - Philadelphia Inquirer

Cities produce more CO2 per acre, but much less per person than other types of living, according to a new study by The Center for Neighborhood Technology.

June 22 - Chicago Sun-Times

Planners in New Jersey developed ambitious plans for transit-oriented development along their rail corridors, but with the struggling housing market and poor economy, developers aren't showing up or have halted projects in the works.

June 22 - The New York Times

The Economist magazine has published it's list of the most livable cities in the world. But quite a few of these cities have the most unaffordable housing, complains Owen McShane.

June 22 - New Geography

Some cities are change zoning laws to free smaller supermarkets from having to supply parking spaces in order to provide enough nutritious food to low-income residents.

June 22 - STREETSBLOG.ORG