The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The Latino Urban Forum's James Rojas has made a name for himself by designing interactive planning models for some of the LA area's most famous neighborhoods. Recently, he took a crack at creating a more sustainable Santa Monica.

February 11 - Los Angeles Streetsblog

Now that the $838 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed the Senate, where will the money go? Stimulus Watch has a breakdown of every project by state, and by type. Here are links to the transit, roads, energy, and housing projects.

February 10 - Stimulus Watch

The Motley Fool says developers' stocks are rallying, and they predict that the stimulus package will also mean a recovery among realtors and mortgage brokers.

February 10 - The Motley Fool

If climate change is behind the horrific brush fires in Australia, then North Americans should be concerned about climatic changes killing off their own forests.

February 10 - Daily Kos

Theft and vandalism have crippled the citywide bike rental system in Paris, leaving operator JCDecaux uncertain of the increasingly expensive program's future.

February 10 - BBC

New Jersey launched a new express train service, ACES, to carry visitors to the bustling Atlantic City casinos from NY Penn Station. The trip will take 2 hrs, 45 minutes. Though there won’t be gambling aboard, each train has two bars.

February 10 - The New York Times

Korean photographer Hosang Park's recent series exposes tiny, unknown 'parks' that are attached to housing developments around the world.

February 10 - BLDBLOG

Mayor R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis is changing the rules of urban economic redevelopment, mainly by not handing out large tax incentives to big businesses.

February 10 - Governing Magazine

The city of San Marcos, Texas, near Austin, plans harsher measures to crack down on graffiti, including holding a minor's parents responsible and banning certain graffiti-making tools.

February 10 - Austin American-Statesman

Amid tough economic times, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman is pushing a broad redevelopment plan in the city's outdated downtown.

February 10 - The New York Times

20 years after the Columbus City Center opened its doors, the now nearly abandoned mall is slated to be demolished. The redevelopment agency plans to replace it with a park.

February 10 - The Columbus Dispatch

Most states are required to balance their budgets. The economic crisis combined with lowered expectation for federal stimulus relief means that the only option left is to start cutting budgets.

February 9 - Los Angeles Times

The New York Times reports that the renewable energy industry is hurting badly in this recession. Lack of available credit is the main reason, and while the stimulus bill may help, it will not be the solution.

February 9 - The New York Times

No drastic changes will occur in American suburbs over the next quarter century, Columbia University professor contends.

February 9 - Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy--Rutgers

BLOG POST

<p> Often, participants in public debates use words to mean things very different from their common-sense meanings, in order to manipulate the public’s emotions. Two examples in the field of urban planning come to mind. </p>

February 9 - Michael Lewyn

In Wales, the rail authority has recorded a major upswing in near misses at rail crossings. The article is accompanied by a video of dangerous near misses.

February 9 - BBC News

The National League of Cities is reporting that the vast majority of America's cities are facing "fiscal difficulties," including a loss in tax revenue and the inability to secure credit.

February 9 - CNN Money

Charles Platt uses CIA Factbook data on populations to create a visual representation of how much land there is per person in different nations.

February 9 - BoingBoing

City planners are rezoning an area of the Bronx known for auto shops and storage units to try to create a new bustling neighborhood like SoHo.

February 9 - The Daily News

Residents of Boston's South Side are marking public parking spots with cones, coolers, and chairs, in an effort to save them for later after personally cleaning out the snow. The Mayor ok'ed the practice, but some shovelers are abusing the system.

February 9 - The Boston Herald