Let me tell you a scary story that you can use to frighten fellow planners at next week’s Halloween party. It’s not just fun and games – this story is true and may cause nightmares.
Smart Growth
Why Tea Party Criticism Should Matter to Planners
Andrew H. Whittemore contends that planners dismiss the far-fetched theories of a grand United Nations sustainability conspiracy at their own peril.
The Atlantic Cities
A Shift of Attention to Local Planning Policies by the Tea Party Becomes National News
The 'lamestream media' picks up the story of Tea Party activists railing against efforts to control sprawl and conserve energy.
The New York Times
A Tale of Two Cities
Melinda Burns uses two California cities through which to investigate the reasons why the foreclosure crisis has impacted communities in dramatically different ways.
Miller-McCune
Why Infill Development May Be Bad for Your Health
A new study has created unexpected tensions between public health advocates and smart-growth-oriented urban planners.
California Watch
How To Retrofit The Suburbs to Increase Walking
Researchers look at the largely suburban South Bay area of Los Angeles to offer ways to retrofit auto-oriented suburbs for more pedestrian travel.
Access
Advice on Responding To Tea Party Members Critical of Smart Growth
The year 2011 may be remembered by some as the year planners began fielding objections about smart growth from Tea Party supporters. Nathan Norris offers his four-step process for responding.
PlaceShakers
Is Smart Growth a United Nations Plot?
Tea Partiers, anti-smart growthers and Wendell Cox all agree: Agenda 21, a United Nations program adopted in 1992, contains dangerous ideas that if implemented could damage economic growth and cement world government control over the U.S.
New Urban Network
Readers Respond To Leinberger's 'Death of Fringe Suburb'
The Times published three responses to op-eds by Leinberger and anti-sprawl contributor, Louise A. Mozingo. Univ. of IL urban planning professor and author Robert Bruegmann and Carnegie Endowment director Shin-Pei Tsay present contrasting viewpoints.
The New York Times - Letters To Editor
Mitt Romney, New Urbanist?
During his tenure as governor, Romney took several pro-smart growth actions, says Alec MacGillis in the New Republic.
The Oregonian
Best Smart Growth Projects in America
This year, the Environmental Protection Agency looked at "articulate" city plans that aimed for a more sustainable future. There were five plans across that nation that were awarded for "achievement in smart growth."
The Atlantic Cities
Boston Area Cities Receive Smart Growth Funding
Each of the cities just north of Boston will use its federal funds however it sees fit to boost smart growth principles and local economic development.
The Boston Globe
San Francisco Mayoral Candidates Lacking Urban Vision
In the thick of the campaign, the American Institute of Architects invited the eleven major candidates for mayor of San Francisco to debate their respective visions for the City by the Bay.
The Examiner
In Praise of Orenco Station
Michael Mehaffy worked on Orenco Station in Portland, and says criticism that says it fails because most commuters drive to work misses the point of the forward-thinking development.
The Atlantic Cities
New Jersey Governor Wants to Kill Smart Growth in the State
An overhaul of the New Jersey State Plan proposed by the Governor's office would eliminate the State Plan Policy Map, which designated growth areas and conservation in the state.
NJ Spotlight
Sprawl is Holding the Recovery Back
A new report from Strong Towns Initiative argues that sprawl-friendly policies and overbuilt infrastructure are keeping the economy from properly recovering.
New Urban Network
Save the Partnership for Sustainable Communities
Geoff Andersen, president and CEO of Smart Growth America, explains the great work accomplished so far by the Partnership for Sustainable Communities and asks that readers pressure their senators today as a critical vote on program funding goes before the Senate tomorrow.
Urban Village Rising in El Paso
Montecillo, a 293-acre 'urban village', is the first development to take advantage of El Paso's new Smart Code. The project launched in May, and the developer is already preparing to get Phase 2 off the ground.
El Paso Inc.
Sprawl vs. Farms
Jonathan Lerner reports from Fresno, where sprawling development has clashed with agriculture, the region's bread and butter. A new regional plan hopes to preserve farmland and ease tensions.
Miller-McCune
Evaluating Smart Growth Benefits and Costs
Mon, 09/05/2011 - 04:09
This is the third in a series of columns that respond to recent claims by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) that smart growth policies are ineffective and harmful. The first was, An Inaccurate Attack On Smart Growth, followed by Land Use Impacts On Travel: Current State of Knowledge. This examines smart growth benefits and costs.
