The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency is offering Katrina cottage dwellers the chance to buy up their units. But will these "shotgun shacks" ever be considered legitimate homes?

April 15 - Governing

BLOG POST

<p> <span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Verdana">An article posted <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/09/shipping-pollution"><span style="color: #800080">last week</span></a> by the Guardian and highlighted <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/cargo-ship-emissions-more-than-760-million-cars.php"><span style="color: #800080">yesterday</span></a> by Treehugger.com cites recent studies as well as data from maritime industry sources that the combination of quantity and quality of low-grade bunker fuel used in the massive engines of freight vessels may result in more emissions than all the cars in the world!  I don’t mean to wax sensationalist here, this is what is stated in the article.  If the truth is anywhere near the statement, then the idea of

April 15 - Ian Sacs

An antiquated set of zoning laws has been at the heart of a debate between preservationists and developers in Oakland for years, though a compromise in the form of new zoning rules may be in the city's near future.

April 15 - San Francisco Chronicle

States ready to go forward with highway projects are seeing equally eager construction companies put in bids as low as 50% below budget, and far ahead of schedule.

April 15 - Los Angeles Times

Portland urban designer Arun Jain has released his Urban Design Framework, a vision that requires planners to give themselves more leeway "without giving up core values."

April 15 - Daily Journal of Commerce

BLOG POST

<p> It’s always tempting returning from a vacation to a foreign country to come to conclusions about how that society works. This isn’t entirely a bad thing- after all, exposure to different ways of life are mind-expanding and suggest new possibilities. My first trip to Rome redefined the way I think of public space, and set me on a path  leading to a career in urban planning. </p> <p> <img src="/files/20090415_philosophers2.jpg" alt="Along the Philosopher's Walk in Kyoto." title="Along the Philosopher's Walk in Kyoto." width="438" height="329" /> </p> <p> <em>Along the Philosopher&#39;s Walk in Kyoto.</em> </p>

April 15 - Tim Halbur

The Southern Nevada Water Authority is officially opposing the residential use of gray water, arguing that it diminishes the replenishment of Lake Mead and, ironically, discourages water conservation.

April 15 - Las Vegas Sun

This post features highlights from "Urbanisms Inc.," a forum on urban theory in New York City that took place on March 30.

April 15 - The New York Times City Room Blog

Community businesspeople in Loganville, GA had planned on funding a new park in the town, but with their incomes taking a major hit funds for projects like this are drying up.

April 15 - The Wall St. Journal

In this excerpt from the Canadian edition of "Who's Your City?" author Richard Florida argues that, while Canada's cities have done well to avoid some of the economic disparities of U.S. cities, they will need to work harder still.

April 15 - The Globe and Mail

A new building going up in China is will be the as long as the Empire State Building is high. It will also be raised on columns to create a parkland underneath, giving the impression that it is floating.

April 15 - ASLA's The Dirt blog

BLOG POST

<p> Here in San Diego, public transportation is on life support.  Despite record ridership, trolley and bus service has been reduced, with some bus routes cancelled altogether.  Fares are up across the board.  The monthly light rail pass will be $72; three years ago it was $60. <br />

April 14 - Diana DeRubertis

Reporters at the Land Use Accountability Project have uncovered evidence that home appraisers were under great pressure at the height of the bubble to inflate home values.

April 14 - Land Use Accountability Project

This piece from <em>Worldchanging</em> looks at the Seattle-area city of Ballard. It's a "20-minute city", where people can get to practically everything they'd want or need to within a 20-minute walk.

April 14 - WorldChanging

GOOD Magazine talks with Joseph M. Sussman, an external adviser to the Department of Transportation and professor at MIT, about high-speed rail, intelligent transportation systems, and more.

April 14 - GOOD Magazine

Reports have long linked higher cancer rates to different racial groups, but a new study suggests that location may play a more significant role in the prevalence of the disease.

April 14 - American Cancer Society

Researchers are teaming up with Boston community members to study how living close to freeways can be harmful to residents' health.

April 14 - The Boston Globe

A recent trip to Doha reveals a city with little history, but also the revelation that history is not the only aspect of a city's charm.

April 14 - The National

Researchers at Duke University are advising Congress to develop zoning rules for the oceans that will guide where offshore energy generation can and should occur.

April 14 - The New York Times

The elementary school in Goodsprings, Nevada is a historic and central part of this small town. But with just six students, the costs of running the school are climbing too high for administrators.

April 14 - The New York Times