The Planetizen News Brief

• Artist: Planetizen
• Title: Planetizen Podcast - 2007-09-06 - The Planetizen News Brief
• Album: Planetizen Podcast
• Year: 2007
• Length: 4:14 minutes (3.93 MB)
• Format: Stereo 44kHz 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

The urban population is booming nowadays and the world’s biggest cities are getting even bigger. But economists and urbanists are increasingly taking notice of the not-so-big big cities, or the so-called “second cities”. These are places like San Francisco, Hamburg, and Barcelona as opposed to L.A., Berlin, and Madrid, and a recent article in Der Spiegel discusses the boom seen in these second cities, where waves of young professionals are fueling local economies in a huge way. These “creative classes” are behind the expansion of high-tech industries and the creation of millions of jobs in the United States alone, and show cities that being not-so-big can be a big advantage.

And in cities big and small across the country, the number of foreclosed homes is rising, and it’s beginning to cause problems. The Los Angeles Times reports that many cities are having trouble dealing with the new dearth of empty and undermaintained homes that resulted from this year’s subprime mortgage lending bust. Hundreds of homes are foreclosed every day and the unoccupied units are causing blight fright in many communities. Squatters are causing concern to local police, and health officials are warning that swimming pools in the backyards of foreclosed homes could become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. And any mention of mosquitoes follows with the obligatory hysteria surrounding the West Nile virus, which has many neighbors on edge. But with neither the former owners, the current squatters, nor the foreclosing banks willing to take responsibility for these homes, officials and residents in many towns are left with few options for dealing with the abandoned properties.

And finally, in the San Francisco Bay Area, the city of Martinez had a shock recently when it learned that units in an affordable housing complex were being rented out at market rates. The mix-up came to light when residents began complaining to the city over the shortage of parking spaces. The complex, which was zoned and approved as housing intended for senior citizens, was only required to build one parking spot per unit. But now with market-rate renters who are less than senior, the parking lot can’t handle the demand. The city says the mistake may have been unintentional as it is possible the new owners of the complex didn’t realize they were still required to keep the rents affordable. But regardless of the cause, the city maintains that the ultimate solution will be to return the complex to its intended affordable status and to the senior citizens it was built for.

Stories discussed in this week's Planetizen News Brief

A More Manageable And Successful Future In 'Second Cities'

Foreclosures Bring The Spectre Of Blight

Affordable Housing Mistakenly Renting At Market Rates