The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

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Streets Are For People, Not (Just) Cars

 At a company presentation about environmental impact the other week a colleague included a historic photograph of Scollay Square in Boston.  You are pardoned if, even after visiting or living in that city, this doesn’t sound familiar because all prominent characteristics of the area were summarily obliterated in the mid-twentieth century to make way for a potpourri of brutalist-style administrative buildings and renamed Government Center.  Urban redevelopment arguments aside, the photograph reveals a particularly interesting detail about the function and use of streets virtually erased from our minds over the last century.  <p> <img src="/files/u20603/Scollay.jpg" width="432" height="336" align="bottom" name="graphics1" />  </p>

April 20 - Ian Sacs

Why Did Burnham's Chicago Plan Work?

A thoughtful look at what made Daniel Burnham's plan for the City of Chicago so successful.

April 20 - Urbanophile

If you are sure to lose your weight, apply Yoga Health Guide Secrets.

This shows you why an elliptical trainer workout and treadmill weight loss can be the best ways to burn body fat to shed unwanted pounds.

April 20 - weight loss program

U.S. Shuns World's Fair-like Expositions

A 1999 law forbids the State Department from funding pavilions at international expositions. Fred Bernstein argues that the law is misguided, and should be changed before the next year's World's Fair in Shanghai.

April 19 - The Architect's Newspaper


The Smell of the City

Among the installations at the Ecological Urbanism exhibit at Harvard's Graduate School of Design is a collection of smells from 200 Mexico City neighborhoods.

April 19 - The Boston Globe

Turning Luxury Condos Into Affordable Housing

Housing advocates and policymakers in Brooklyn are working with developers to take half-finished luxury condos (stalled out by the economic crisis) and transform them into affordable housing.

April 19 - City Hall


Prepare Now for Altered Coastlines

A disturbing new report on sea-level rise projections for California warns that the state must start planning now for the anticipated flooding of its coastline, which could wipe out over $100 billion worth of built infrastructure.

April 19 - AlterNet

Pedestrian Airbags

Researchers in Europe are seeking ways to keep pedestrians safe in traffic accidents. One idea is an airbag that shoots out from under a raised 'bonnet' (the hood, in the States).

April 19 - NewScientist

Will it Take Until 2030 to Rebuild the World Trade Center?

The downturn in the economy has led the owners of the Ground Zero site to put off for decades construction of two of the three planned towers.

April 18 - Huffington Post

Lessons from Germany

Germany, while similarly autocentric, has managed to create a much more sustainable transportation system than the U.S., according to a study commissioned the by Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program.

April 18 - Brookings

Canada's Top Green Cities

Green Living magazine gives kudos to Canada's leading cities in terms of energy, water, density and bike-friendliness.

April 18 - Green Living

Food Truck Delivers Local Opportunities

A new community program in Rotterdam is bringing a food truck with new eating options -- and business opportunities -- to working class neighborhoods.

April 18 - Metropolis

BLOG POST

Senate Draws An Awkward MAP

<span style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000" class="Apple-style-span"><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; background-color: #ffffff"><p class="MsoNormal">Remember the legislation that, in 1965, affirmed universal suffrage in all elections?<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>Yes, you do.<span> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>It was called the National Voting Rights Act.</p>

April 18 - Josh Stephens

Nobody Walks in Dubai

The United Arab Emirates has plenty of tall, flashy buildlings, but the rush to build has largely left street life scarce in many parts.

April 18 - The National (Abu Dhabi)

Top Ten Sustainable Architecture Projects

The American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Enviroment has named its selections for the best examples of last year of sustainable architecture and green design.

April 17 - ArchiCentral

Transit, or Schools?

Atlanta school leaders consider renegotiating a Tax Allocation District (TAD) agreement that was set up to help fund projects such as the Beltline, a 22-mile loop of transit, trails, parks and development around the city.

April 17 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Can Dubai Survive?

Beneath the shiny allure of Dubai lies a litany of human rights and environmental abuses so severe that collapse cannot be far away, writes Johann Hari.

April 17 - AlterNet

Stadium to Nowhere

Kansas City has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in a new indoor arena with the hopes of luring a pro basketball or hockey team. But a year and a half after opening, nobody's biting.

April 17 - The Atlantic

Luxury Replaces Local Goods and Services in Malibu

As a new luxury retail center replaces a decades-old hardware store in upscale Malibu, California, many worry about the troubled future facing local businesses and services.

April 17 - Los Angeles Times

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