The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Although denser is inherently greener, cities whose populations boom have their own set of challenges regarding sustainability. According to this article, achieving a balance between urban and rural growth is the most sustainable way to go.

February 26 - Crosscut

BLOG POST

<p> On this week&#39;s <a href="http://www.kunstlercast.com/">KunstlerCast</a> (James Howard Kunstler&#39;s podcast, with host Duncan Crary), you can hear me leaving a comment. I just listened to the episode, and I sound like I took a shot of codeine cough syrup before recording it. I think the point is relevant enough to reiterate in the safety of print. </p>

February 26 - Tim Halbur

Transportation reporter Tom Belden of the Philadelphia Daily ponders how and where the $8 billion in stimulus funds allotted to high-speed rail should be spent, referencing a report by the Progressive Policy Institute.

February 26 - Philadelphia Daily

Kent Kammerer asserts that by jumping too quickly on a TOD bandwagon that stresses density, local municipalities may leave out elements of social infrastructure and adequate services--the real driving forces behind successful, walkable areas.

February 26 - Cross

As stimulus money trickles down to states, many worry the best laid plans for spending it will devolve into a frantic money grab among municipalities. But, according to this piece from Mark Muro, there are signs of order at the metropolitan level.

February 26 - Citiwire

New legislation is expected to seek greater federal control over the siting of electrical transmission lines, a move lawmakers hope will ease the creation of a "smart" electricity grid.

February 26 - Grist

John King of the San Francisco Chronicle trumpets the work of Bridge Housing in increasing the availability of quality affordable housing in the Bay Area. But is it enough? New studies say affordable housing is an uphill battle.

February 26 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco's Market Street is heavily used by buses, cars, cyclists, and pedestrians alike. Officials are studying the potential effect of restricting cars either partially or completely, to make it "great once again."

February 25 - The San Francisco Chronicle

BLOG POST

<p> In much of the United States, day-to-day transit service is under assault as never before; state and local treasuries have been depleted by the recession, and the federal stimulus package is unlikely to be helpful because federal dollars are more likely to flow into capital programs (English translation: shiny new railcars) than into preserving existing service (1). Thus, Americans will have the worst of both worlds: billions thrown at transportation while existing bus routes get whittled away. </p>

February 25 - Michael Lewyn

If the government bails out banks, it also better put aside money for structural reform that ensures the proper valuation of property. According to Elena Panaritis, a housing market driven by speculation catalyzed the recession in the first place.

February 25 - Guardian

Funding in the federal stimulus package for high speed rail has been cheered by transit advocates across the country. This opinion piece argues that in addition, funds should be taken away from the auto industry.

February 25 - The Boston Globe

Two-thirds of people who leave prison go back within three years, and many who leave prison go back to particular urban neighborhoods. New Orleans want to spend more smartly in areas whose community life is disrupted by such a cycle.

February 25 - The Atlantic

This interview with Walter Hook, director of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, probes the merits of Bus Rapid Transit versus subways and light rail. The first of four installments.

February 25 - Streetsblog

Over a hundred boxcars have sat for about a year in an Indiana hamlet, proving to be the biggest nuisance to those who, live, and play near them. Of no use to railroad companies with nothing to ship, such rail cars now sit idle all over the country.

February 25 - The Wall Street Journal

California's Central Valley is one of the top agricultural sites in the world, but with low rainfall and cut-off irrigation supplies, farming towns and their citizens may face at least one tough year ahead.

February 25 - The New York Times

Masdar City, the elaborate and ambitious planned green development in Abu Dhabi, is slowing coming into shape. This piece from <em>Technology Review</em> looks at how the city's development could inform the future of citybuilding.

February 25 - Technology Review

The planning adviser on London Mayor Boris Johnson's staff has his eyes on the future of the city, and the architectural legacy he hopes to establish.

February 25 - Building

New green building projects aimed at low-income residents are popping up across the country, and federal stimulus money is helping.

February 25 - Time

As climate change takes the form of higher sea levels and environmental disasters, millions of "ecomigrants" across the world have been on the move to find more environmentally habitable places.

February 24 - The Washington Post

In 2007, the PA legislature passed Act 44 that calls for converting Interstate 80 into a tolled facility. A freshman PA Congressman, continuing in his predecessor's footsteps, introduced a bill to ensure that never occurs.

February 24 - theNewspaper.com: A Journal of the Politics of Driving