Mortgage Crisis

Congressional leaders are preparing to propose dramatic new federal initiatives to help homeowners squeezed by the mortgage crisis. Most Republicans -- and the White House -- remain unconvinced that a federal role is appropriate.

While housing markets in the rest of the country reel from the mortgage crisis, Irvine, the city that was once home to 18 subprime lenders, is seeing its local economy suffer as the effects of high profile bankruptcies ripples to other businesses.

Cities are trying different strategies -- including lawsuits and selling off housing units for $1.00 -- to deal with mass housing abandonment.

The mortgage crisis is devastating many communities far from urban centers, while 'inner cities', regionally speaking, are weathering the financial storm far better thanks to their urban form that makes them attractive to those that can afford them.

The nation's housing downturn has spread to the fastest growing counties in the sunbelt, where most saw reduced domestic migration in the year ending July 1, 2007, while more rural counties experienced population losses.

This video from the BBC looks at the ten cities that have sprung up outside of L.A. as a result of the subprime mortgage meltdown.

Randal O'Toole believes that in the search for blame for the mortgage and credit crisis, an obvious candidate is being overlooked: city planners.

Filmmaker Danny Schechter reflects on the extent of America's debt crisis, and wonders if we need something like the Oscars to help name and identify those responsible.