The Planetizen News Brief

• Artist: Planetizen
• Title: Planetizen Podcast - 2007-07-26 - The Planetizen News Brief
• Album: Planetizen Podcast
• Year: 2007
• Length: 4:20 minutes (4.02 MB)
• Format: Stereo 22kHz 128Kbps (CBR)

The Planetizen News Brief is a weekly rundown of some of the most interesting and important news and issues of the past week.

The Planetizen News Brief airs every week on the nationally-syndicated radio program "Smart City", which is broadcast in cities across the U.S. Learn more about Smart City and listen to archived shows.

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Full Transcript

After all hope was nearly lost, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan has been revived at the state legislative level, extending an already-passed deadline that would have disqualified the city from receiving much-needed federal grants for the plan. The Associated Press reports that after state legislators were unable to get Bloomberg’s plan on the floor for a vote last week, political negotiations during the next few days were able to keep the congestion pricing plan – and its bid for federal grants-- alive. Democratic governor Eliot Spitzer and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver came to a compromise with republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno to create a commission to study traffic reduction strategies such as Bloomberg’s plan. The new deadline for legislative approval is March 31, 2008, giving the state eight months to decide if it wants to host what would be the biggest congestion pricing system in the U.S.

Meanwhile, a shift is taking place in American retail. Since 2005, only three enclosed shopping malls have been constructed, and of those that haven’t yet been demolished, many are struggling to stay afloat. An article from The Columbus Dispatch reports on the changing trend in megaretail, citing that more and more malls are being deserted by the customers that kept them so successful for the last 40 years. But, despite the shift, malls are not dying. Just the enclosed malls are dying. More and More, retail developers are favoring walkable, outdoor, faux-streetscape type developments and these types have shown massive popularity across the country, in suburbs and big cities. But the growing success of these inside-out malls pales next to the burden the massive and dying enclosed malls are leaving on countless American cities.

And finally, it’s been just about two weeks since Paris France has begun operating its citywide bike rental program, and it seems to be a success so far. The Los Angeles Times reports that in the days since more than 10,000 bikes were placed for rental all around the city, the streets of Paris have been flooded with bikers. Paris City Hall has reported more than 45,000 rentals per day, and are anticipating that number to rise as the summer continues and as more bikes are added to the system. However, whether the ambitious bike rental program will serve its intended role of reducing traffic and pollution still remains to be seen.

Stories discussed in this week's Planetizen News Brief

NYC Mayor's Congestion Pricing Plan Back On Track

Ding Dong! The Enclosed Mall Is Dead

Paris Embraces New Bike Rental Program