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The Planetizen News Brief

17 January 2008 - 5:00am
Smart City Radio

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.

Full Transcript

The subprime mortgage loan meltdown has led many to refer to some of the nation’s biggest banks as "predatory lenders". But now the predators are becoming prey, as two major cities have filed lawsuits against these prominent lenders. The New York Times reports that the city of Cleveland, Ohio, has filed suit against 21 of the country’s largest lending institutions, arguing that they knowingly inundated the local market with high-priced loans the borrowers were not likely to be able to pay. In each of the past two years, the city saw more than 7,000 foreclosures – making it one of the most heavily affected American cities. Cleveland’s suit is an expanded version of a similar case filed by the city of Baltimore, Maryland against Wells Fargo for allegedly violating fair housing laws and targeting African Americans in their high-mortgage lending. City officials in Cleveland are expecting the lawsuit’s damages to reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars, at least.

Meanwhile in New Jersey, Governor Jon Corzine is hitting the campaign trail. But he’s not rallying support for re-election, or stumping for presidential candidates. He’s heading out to his constituents to drum up support for tolling the state’s highways. He has proposed to raise the highways’ tolls by 50% every year between 2010 and 2022, calling it the only way to save the state from financial devastation. According to The New York Times, his plan could stand to pull in more than $38 billion dollars, affording it enough to pay off a significant amount of debt and make much-needed improvements to the state’s infrastructure and transportation system. But despite the potential benefits, the governor has his work cut out for him in convincing the voters to back his plan. State republicans are widely against it, and when voters were polled about the idea in August, more than 60% were opposed.

And while New Jersey is looking for ways to raise the costs of driving, India has just seen its costs plummet. The Indian automaker Tata Motors has just unveiled the world’s cheapest car – the $2,500 Nano. According to the Associated Press, the four-door subcompact is widely expected to show big sales throughout India and the developing world, but many environmentalists and planners are expressing concerns about the unintended consequences of its affordability. With already crowded streets and few resources to improve the necessary road infrastructure, developing countries like India may face significant congestion and pollution problems. The long-term effects of the world’s cheapest car remain to be seen, but by year’s end they can surely be expected to be found on the roads of India -- whether flowing freely or stuck bumper to bumper.

Stories discussed in this week's Planetizen News Brief

First Baltimore, Now Cleveland: Banks Facing More Subprime Lawsuits

Traveling The Toll Road Campaign Trail

India's 'Model T': Transport Revolution or Nightmare?

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