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Mid-Town Manhattan To Go Car-Free
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced plans to close off parts of Broadway in Manhattan to car traffic. The city will experiment with the closing as early as May, creating a large pedestrian zone near Times Square.
Vancouver’s Housing Experiment: The First Residents Move In
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
A local TV host will be one of the first to take advantage of Vancouver’s new ‘laneway housing’ pilot project (allowing ‘granny units’ in backyards of traditional city neighborhoods). The project is facing some controversy.
Poverty and Development: Two Birds, Possibly One Stone
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
Some organizations believe they hold the key to fighting poverty–economic development in the inner cities, which will in turn bring in private investment. But others maintain that both are hard to come by simultaneously.
Trucking Industry Prepping for Reauthorization Bill
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
The American Trucking Associations is preparing to focus their upcoming annual meeting on advocacy, promoting their agenda on the TEA-21 Transportation Reauthorization bill to Congress and the Obama administration.
Thinking Twice About Growth
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
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.
How to Spend $8 Billion in High-Speed Rail Funds
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
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.
A Better Transit-Oriented Design
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
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.
Metros Show Signs of Order Over Stimulus Money
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
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.
Feds Seek More Control Over Grid Transmission Lines
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
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.
In Praise of Non-Profit Developers
Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network
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.
