Blogging by Opinion Leaders






Carfree Design Manual -- Todd Litman

New Books Depict Car Culture at a Turning Point -- Michael Dudley

Why not rail? -- Diana DeRubertis

In Olympic year, Vancouver chooses LEEDâ„¢ Gold for private buildings! -- Brent Toderian

Taming the Office Park -- Michael Lewyn
DOT, HUD and EPA All Trumpet Smart Growth
Anthony Flint reports from the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, where the Feds all spoke about coordinating at the federal level to implement smart growth policies.
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy blog
Tiki Preservation
The Royal Hawaiian Estates, a tiki-themed apartment complex built in 1962, was designated an historic district by the City of Palm Springs.
The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)
The Mormon Church Backs Mixed-Use Project
City Creek Center is a $1 billion mixed-use development project that some say is a godsend for downtown Salt Lake City, creating jobs during a tough economy. Others wonder how the church's influence will play out in the culture of the project.
The New York Times
Decay in Suburbia
Fast Company pulls together a handful of recent reports to paint a grim picture for the suburbs, as the number of people living in poverty rises, housing values decline, and infrastructure built in the 60s and 70s erodes.
Fast Company
How Bill's Hotel Room Saved Some Trees
Bill Fulton was prepping for a panel on transferrable development rights programs for last weekend's New Partners for Smart Growth conference in Seattle when he realized the hotel he was in was the beneficiary of just such a program.
California Planning & Development Report
Initiative Underway To Suspend California's Global Warming Act
California's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, or AB 32, is known throughout the U.S. as being the landmark state legislation that addresses climate change. It is the target of an initiative that aims to suspend it unless unemployment drops.
Los Angeles Times
NYC's "Bus of the Future" Debuts On Bronx BRT Route
What's good for the Bronx turns out to be good for upstate NY. In this case, a Plattsburgh bus manufacturer has received the first orders for what is promoted as the "bus of the future of NYC transit": 3-doors, articulated, low-floor, & low emission.
Second Ave. Sagas
Resort Planned in Russian Nature Preserve
Environmentalists in Russia are fuming over plans to construct a resort in the middle of a nature preserve near the 2014 Winter Olympics host city of Sochi.
Der Spiegel
Saving Money By Converting Asphalt to Gravel
In an effort to cut transportation maintenance costs, some cities are ditching their asphalt roads and going back to gravel.
USA Today
The Poverty Beneath the Rings
Vancouver is playing host to the Winter Olympics beginning later this week. It's a city admired across North America. But it's also home to a pocket of severe poverty and homelessness.
The New York Times
Policy Confusion Over Food Trucks
Food trucks are becoming an increasingly visible part of streetlife in many cities, but few have figured out how to deal with them from a policy standpoint.
The City Fix
L.A. to Extend Light Rail
Transportation officials in Los Angeles have approved the extension of one of the city's light rail lines out to Santa Monica. The new 7-mile link will connect the oceanside town to downtown L.A.
Los Angeles Times
HUD Hearts Portland
Obama's brand new Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities admits to being inspired by Portland's groundbreaking urban planning policies.
The Oregonian
Fighting Obesity With Traffic Calming
The latest news in the impact of the built environment on health: A new study says that children who live within 150 meters of congested roads have higher body mass indexes than kids that do not.
Streetsblog
Fighting Obesity With Design
Last week, five NYC departments released a new publication on "Active Design Guidelines," presenting ways to address public health considerations through the built environment. Urban Omnibus takes a look.
Urban Omnibus
Brooklyn Public Housing Planned for Renovation Instead Faces Demolition
Prospect Plaza, three public housing towers in Brooklyn, were vacated in 2003 for refurbishment. NYC has long renovated their public housing towers instead of tearing them down, so the announcement marks a major change for the city.
The New York Times
One Latvian Town For Sale, Cheap
A secret Russian military facility abandoned by the Russian military when the Soviet Union collapsed was sold at auction on Friday by the Latvian government. Officials celebrated the sale and hoped it could bring new life to the empty town.
The Huffington Post
Fewer Bedrooms, Bathrooms in Shrinking Homes
Custom Home Magazine reports that not only are home sizes down for the first time in 30 years, but the number of bedrooms and bathrooms is down in new homes as well.
CustomHomeOnline
Hopping the HSR to Future Detroit
America 2050 releases a new video imagining what a commute in future Detroit could look like, including car sharing, high-speed rail, and a light rail connector.
America 2050



























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