The Planetizen News Brief

• Artist: Planetizen
• Title: Planetizen Podcast - 2008-07-31 - The Planetizen News Brief
• Album: Planetizen Podcast
• Year: 2008
• Length: 4:35 minutes (4.25 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.

Full Transcript

Housing may be the biggest issue facing America in this election year. The subprime mortgage fiasco has left thousands deep in debt and without homes. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development should be just the agency to do something about the mess, but many say it’s done little if anything, and it may be time for HUD to go. In a recent op-ed in The New York Times, Columbia University professor Sudhir Venkatesh argues that HUD’s model of providing housing is based on an urban growth pattern that’s no longer relevant. He says HUD works best with distinct cities, separate from one another. But as urbanization continues, these distinct areas are melding together, creating metropolitan regions of immense size. He says HUD’s days should be numbered, and the struggling department replaced with one better able to adapt to the new forms of our cities and regions.

And while housing remains a major concern and problem in America, rising gas prices are also causing dismay across the country. This is especially true in small town America. A recent article in the Kansas City Star looks at how rising gas prices are causing many small town residents to consider swapping their far-flung residences for housing closer to work. Economists are predicting that the next few years will bring a grand exodus of people from small town America, creating ghost towns throughout the country. Though small towns have experienced population decline in the past as farming and factory work trickled away, the new shift out of small towns is less an effect of a changing economy than a symptom of a completely new way of life.

And finally, you probably know think you know poor when you see it, but looks can be deceiving. A new report has found that many of the economically depressed areas we might look at as being poor actually have some pretty significant economic potential. The findings from the Washington-D.C. based non-profit Social Compact reveal that there are literally billions of dollars to be made in the lower-income neighborhoods businesses are typically hesitant to approach. Bank branches and grocery stores are prime candidates for locating in these areas, which boast large populations and surprising amounts of discretionary income. According to a recent segment on National Public Radio, census figures for these areas tend to undercut the actual populations, meaning that area incomes are actually much higher than data would let on. Tapping into this unlikely wealth could be a major investment opportunity for businesses, and more importantly, a critical move towards building sustainable communities.

Stories discussed in this week's Planetizen News Brief

Does HUD Need To Be Modernized?

Can Small Town America Survive the End of Cheap Gas?

Not As Poor As You Think