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The Planetizen News Brief

19 June 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 outlook from the suburbs continues to be bleak, with the one-two punch of the mortgage crisis and rising gas prices hitting hard across the nation. Suburban neighborhoods are emptying out, and blight is moving in in the form of graffiti and unmowed lawns. Meanwhile, cities are growing in popularity and transit use is at an all-time high. Christopher Leinberger, an urban planning professor at the University of Michigan, sees the shift as a sign of things to come. Leinberger told CNN, "The American Dream is absolutely changing." This change is reflected in surveys that show that up to 40 percent of households surveyed in metropolitan areas want to live in walkable urban areas, according to Leinberger. With more and more people moving to cities, abandonment is rampant. Residents of the suburbs are coping by mowing neighbors lawns and drafting up new anti-blight regulations. But with gas prices continuing to rise and housing prices continuing to drop in many areas, it may be a long time before relief is found.

Another unexpected effect of rising gas prices is the growing popularity of an unlikely form of alternative transportation. All across the country, golf carts are venturing outside the country club and into everyday use. Faced with gas prices reaching almost five dollars a gallon in some places, many Americans are using the typically recreational vehicles for local trips. More and more retirement communities are encouraging this mode of transport because of its low emissions and relatively quiet engine. Unfortunately, this eco-conscious choice can also be dangerous. The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection and Critical Care found that there were over 40 thousand golf-cart related injuries between 2000 and 2005. Though this number is nowhere near the amount of regular car-related injuries, many are cautioning communities against rushing to integrate the modest golf carts into everyday traffic dominated by much bigger, and much stronger automobile.

Meanwhile, on the Mediterranean Coast, one of the famed playgrounds of the rich and famous is facing some tough times. The principality of Monaco is known widely as the home of the Monte Carlo casino, but is also one of the densest countries in the world. Measuring less than one square mile, the country has officially run out of space. But Monaco's Prince Albert has plans to expand. The prince is said to be reviewing architectural plans for an extension that would jut out from the coast, supported by stilts. Environmentalists have worries that the project will endanger the nearby coastal marine ecology. Albert, who has long championed environment-friendly projects like car sharing and electric cars, is said to be looking carefully at the environmental impact. He is hoping to make the Monaco project a model of sustainable development and eco-technology. And with plenty of resources on hand, the notorious tax haven may just be able to pull it off.

And in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, a long-lost lighthouse has been found. Wellfleet is located between the tip and the elbow of Cape Cod, and Wellfleet Harbor was once home to a 30-foot tall cast-iron lighthouse. But sometime in the 1930s, it disappeared. In the 70 years that followed, historians assumed that it had been destroyed. But last week researcher Colleen MacNeney rediscovered the missing tower in, of all places, California. There is no record of the lighthouse's cross-country journey, but a plaque mounted on the base confirms its origin. The lighthouse now stands in Point Montara, California, where it serves as hostel for students, and appropriately, travelers.

Stories discussed in this week's Planetizen News Brief

Emptying Suburbs Sign of Things to Come

Golf Carts on Main Street

Tiny Monaco Using Stilts to Expand

Missing Mass. Lighthouse Found -- In California

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