The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

James Howard Kunstler predicts the Dow falling to 4000 by the end of the year, more dramatic swings in oil prices, and an overall contraction of services and the economy.

January 2 - Straight.com

Boise, Idaho and other cities in the region have adopted "percent for the arts" initiatives, and are looking to public art to reflect the region's 'maturity.'

January 2 - The Idaho Statesman

In 2008, RAND Corp. conducted a study on mitigating traffic congestion in Los Angeles. They studied two types of strategies: conventional, e.g. signal timing, and market-based, e.g. increased the price of driving. The results were surprising.

January 2 - Gristmill Blog

Mining towns in Lander County, NV are skipping the recession, thanks to a local economy based on gold.

January 2 - The New York Times

Retail analysts predict a "sea change" in the retail landscape in 2009, with a record number of bankruptcies, closures and vacancies.

January 2 - CNN Money

This column looks at President-elect Barack Obama's food politics and wonders just how sustainable his administration's food policies will be.

January 2 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Cities in California have been finding creative ways to generate funding and financing in recent years. Now, it seems lenders are coming to cities to collect on loans and many are left scrambling to pay up.

January 2 - Los Angeles Times

Cheap gas, great deals, and winter weather resulted in SUV and light trucks resuming their dominance in vehicle sales in December, climbing to 51% of all sales, as Prius sales dipped 48% in November.

January 2 - CNNMoney.com

In a continuing investigation, the Chicago Tribune reports on the bribes and corruption that have resulted from the Chicago policy of allowing local aldermen final say -- over local zoning and planning -- on what gets built.

January 2 - Chicago Tribune

Inhabitat selects their top 10, ranging from DIY bicycles to the fall of the S.U.V. Notably, transit is barely mentioned.

January 2 - Inhabitat

Alex Steffen at WorldChanging turns the climate change problem inside out to reconsider whether the form of energy is the true issue, rather than how much is wasted and how we use it.

January 1 - WorldChanging

A NYT editorial and NYT columnist Thomas Friedman both arrive at the same conclusion - some type of gas tax is essential for both the auto bailout and Obama's goal of greening the U.S. economy.

January 1 - The New York Times

Controversy surrounds a $20 million redesign of New York City's Union Square Park.

January 1 - The New York Times

Developer Amir Ziv thought he'd received all the approvals he needed for a controversial affordable housing development in Columbia, MO - but failed to count on storm water regulations.

January 1 - The Columbia Tribune

The deepening of the housing market crisis is certainly a big deal in California. But the land use story of the year was the Legislature's passage of a measure mandating regional planning.

January 1 - California Planning & Development Report

FEATURE

January 1 - Abhijeet Chavan

The Washington Post has uncovered that the $6 billion, 25 yr. old program to clean up pollution in the Chesapeake Bay has produced little-to-no results -- and the EPA greatly exaggerated their progress.

December 31 - Washington Post

Five years ago, the Central Valley became the first area of California to ban indoor wood burning when an 'alert' was called by the air district; other air districts followed in 2008. This study, released in Nov. shows that "no burn" days save lives.

December 31 - The Fresno Bee

A new study in Houston reveals that the number of crashes at intersections with new red-light cameras has doubled from the time before they were installed.

December 31 - Houston Chronicle

The Globe and Mail remembers James Strutt, one of Canada's foremost modernist architects.

December 31 - The Globe and Mail