Walkscore to Get Bus Points
Transit stops are now included on Walkscore, the map-mashup website that scores neighborhoods based on their accessibility and walkability.
NRDC Switchboard
Finding A Sustainabe Path for Jakarta
Jakarta, Indonesia is the world's sixth most populated metropolitan area, and it's on track to move up in ranks within the next decade. Some planners are trying to figure out how to guide this developing megacity onto a sustainable path.
The City Fix
Isn't This How We Got Into This Mess in the First Place?
In the name of economic stimulus, the government has invested deeply in the very business (real estate) that was driving the economy down. Does that make sense? Streetsblog's Ryan Avent reports.
Streetsblog
Simulating Mount Rushmore
Experts from heritage group Historic Scotland have developed a technique using lasers to create precise digital representations of enormous sites. Mount Rushmore is the next location to be captured.
The New York Times
Talking 'Bout a RailVolution
The Urbanophile reports from RailVolution in Boston, including a video interview with John Robert Smith, CEO of Reconnecting America.
The Urbanophile
The Solution for Homelessness? Homes.
Neal Peirce says that there is finally light at the end of the tunnel in the debate over homelessness, and a consensus that stopgaps don't work. The real answer is to, duh, give them homes.
Citiwire.net
The History of the Parking Lot
An exhibit currently at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. explains how the architecture and design of parking lots evolved, and why. Meanwhile, the Parking Show of Shows conference takes place nearby with a different take.
The Washington Post
The Most Polluted Metro Areas in America
Atlanta tops a list of the most polluted cities in the country, according to an analysis of EPA data by Forbes.
Forbes
'No Credits, Just Prerequisites'
The Living Building Challenge is a new environmental rating system that focuses on required environmental design elements, diverging dramatically from the credit-based approach of the built environment's dominant rating system, LEED.
Metropolis Magazine
Center for Developmentally Disabled Doesn't Fit Zoning - Any Zoning
The Winterville, GA Planning Commission rejected the idea of creating a special "assisted residential district" for a center for developmentally disabled people, saying that the proposal was too vague.
The Athens Banner-Herald
Driverless Cars are the Solution, Says Randal O'Toole
Promoting his upcoming book on transportation planning, Randal O'Toole says his central argument is that rail is a dead end and driverless car technologies are the answer to our congestion problems.
The Antiplanner
Solar-lit Footbridge Opens in Brisbane
Last month saw the debut of one of the world's longest footbridges, which also happens to be 100% solar-powered. 36,500 people are projected to walk across the bridge each week.
Inhabitat
When The Auto Columnist Gives Up His Car
What's this? The Wall Street Journal's 'car guy' - the reporter who writes about cars and roads, is .....without a car? As difficult as it may be to believe, Joseph White is now a carless urbanite in DC. Here is his first column in his new lifestyle.
The Wall Street Journal
New $6500 Tax Credit for Homebuyers
The U.S. Senate has approved an extension of the tax credit for 1st time homebuyers, which is set to expire in November. The House could vote on Thursday.
Builder Magazine
Smaller May Be Better in Developer Biz
While a number of mega retail developers crashed and burned during the recession, some smaller developers have thrived.
Retail Traffic Magazine
Tribal Battle Results in No Development for 40 Years
In 1968, the Bureau of Indian Affairs put a freeze on development in an area of Arizona that the Navajo and Hopi both claimed until the tribes could settle. It wasn't until 2006 that an agreement was reached.
Los Angeles Times
The True Cost of Commuting from the Exurbs
A new study from ULI details the transportation costs for households around the San Francisco Bay Area, and finds that SFers spend on average $500 less each month than suburban dwellers in the area.
The San Francisco Chronicle
Boom in Utah Town
Growth is at a standstill in most western boomtowns, but not in well-planned, thriving South Jordan, UT. An expedited permitting process and good planning are given credit as catalysts for growth.
Desert News
National Trust for Historic Preservation Head to Retire
Richard Moe, longtime president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has announced his retirement. His tenure brought about a major change in the way the group interacts with the federal government to preserve the nation's historic sites.
The Washington Post
California Election Results Reverse Trend on Growth
It's no surprise when voters in the college town of Davis, California, say no to a housing development. But it is a surprise when Modesto says "whoa" to growth, and when development-averse Santa Barbara and Ventura reject new controls.
California Planning & Development Report
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"To ignore this space is shortsighted." -- Jennifer Wolch, Director of the USC Center for Sustainable Cities
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