Op-Ed

Our public buildings -- courthouses, post offices, town halls, libraries, schools -- are a reflection of who we are as a community and as a people.

The president of AICP responds to the charge that planning certification can actually harm a planner's career. AICP represents the highest standard of the profession.

Architects, engineers and lawyers have professional certifications. Planners have the AICP. But does it matter? Richard Carson argues that it will hurt your planning career.

Will smart growth result in more traffic congestion and air pollution? Wendell Cox presents the argument for sprawl and against urban 'smart growth' development.

Current land use practices are doomed to failure because they rely on zoning that ignores the capacity and function of the community's natural resources.

Why did Oregon voters pass Measure 7? Citizens were tired of heavy-handed government planners.

Littleton, Colorado's healthier approach to economic development.

Los Angeles' new Department of Neighborhood Empowerment is creating a system of neighborhood councils to restructure city government and local planning. Will it succeed?

If smart growth can be measured, cities and regions can be evaluated against specific performance standards, and our communities can grow smarter. But can it be done?

Speed has become far more important than storage in moving goods. The success of your regional trade industry will depend on it. Are you planning for it?

The booming success of e-commerce and the accompanying revenue it generates for the cities where it locates has made dot.coms the businesses to have in your community.

California cities are being pressured to slow growth and preserve open space. Yet the state's population continues to grow rapidly. The result will be acute housing shortages that create the nation's largest slums in California.