News

A press conference was held in Paris to draw attention to the problem of "increasingly large and unsympathetic buildings" cropping up around the City of Lights.

Florida voters are facing an amendment this November that could dramatically reshape the way local planning occurs.

A new study ranks the U.S. states by residents' happiness. From Louisiana (#1) to New York (#51), the happiest people tend to live in sunny, outdoorsy states with strong quality of life measures.

Washington County, Utah invites the public once a year to see what transportation projects are in the works and talk to planners and engineers. The meet-and-greet has proved highly popular and a way for information to flow both ways.

The online walkability tool is sexy but not perfect. Real estate site are beginning to use it; could planners use it too? Bill Fulton gives his two cents.

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.

The Royal Hawaiian Estates, a tiki-themed apartment complex built in 1962, was designated an historic district by the City of Palm Springs.

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.

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.

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'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.

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.

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.

In an effort to cut transportation maintenance costs, some cities are ditching their asphalt roads and going back to gravel.

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.

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.

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.

Obama's brand new Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities admits to being inspired by Portland's groundbreaking urban planning policies.

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.

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.