Public Policy

NIMBYs, For Better or Worse

NIMBYism served a purpose once, says Scott Doyon, preventing all sorts of heinous projects from being built. But eventually, it became about stopping ALL change. Doyon has some recommendations for changing course.

30 July 2011 - 7:00am

PlaceShakers

Does America Need a National Infrastructure Bank?

A new report published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace proposes, among other things, a 5%-per-barrel tax on petro and the creation of the National Infrastructure Bank to cope with transportation budget cuts.

24 July 2011 - 7:00am

America 2050

The Paradox of Minimum Parking Requirements for Bars and Taverns

Zoning codes that mandate a certain number of parking spaces for businesses that serve on-site alcoholic beverages are inconsistent with law enforcement's campaign against drunk driving, says Eric de Place.

22 July 2011 - 2:00pm

Sightline Daily

»

7 comments

Most Successful Bus Rapid Transit Stalls Out

Bogota, Columbia's TransMilenio bus rapid transit system has been widely praised and imitated around the world. However, many consider the successful bus system to be suffering from its own success.

16 July 2011 - 1:00pm

www.TheCityFix.com

»

1 comment

Why California Should Increase Car Tax

George Skelton of The Los Angeles Times contends that one of Schwarzenegger's biggest blunders as governor of California was lowering the vehicle license fee to 0.65%.

11 July 2011 - 11:00am

The Los Angeles Times

Ideological Clash Over Transportation Bill

A proposal to cut transportation funding by chairman of the House transportation committee John Mica (R-Fla.) received wide criticism from the Democrat counterpart.

8 July 2011 - 11:00am

The Washington Post

Los Angeles' Legacy of Murals is Disappearing

The legacy of Los Angeles murals has all but left the city, buried under sign ordinances, billboard policy and tagging. Tanner Blackman in the Dept. of City Planning Code Studies Section is working to free up the knot of regulation.

7 July 2011 - 11:00am

KCET

Stagnant Sales Hamper Chicago's Revitalization Efforts

Failing to attract buyers even with deep discounts, developers are starting to bail out on Plan for Transformation, an ambitious program that seeks to replace moribund public housing projects with mixed-income housing.

20 June 2011 - 7:00am

Chicago Tribune

Does Climate Change Transcend Partisan Politics?

A Yale University survey yielded a surprising result: climate change policy is becoming less polarizing among Americans of different political affiliations.

17 June 2011 - 5:00am

D.C. Streesblog

Planning Disputes Loom Large Over Upcoming Australian Election

A variety of controversial planning policies and high-profile development projects in Melbourne have led to widespread resident frustration, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. Could planning issues change the city's larger political equation?

13 October 2010 - 12:00pm

The Sydney Morning Herald

Crafting the Next Generation of Smart Growth Policies

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy spent two years looking at smart growth policies in a number of states to see how well they've achieved their goals. Gregory K. Ingram, President of the Institute, explains the results.

8 June 2009 - 5:00am

British Intelligence Tells Planners to Keep Plans Secret

MI5 has requested that planners and architects keep some details of building designs top secret as part of the fight against terrorism.

13 June 2008 - 6:00am

The Architect's Journal

Barbara Knecht

An Outbreak Of Beauty and Happiness?

Thu, 03/22/2007 - 11:48

In spite of my sense that we are heading pell mell into the gloom of global warming, catastrophic conflict and hopeless mediocrity, I’ve noticed a hopeful trend. Beauty and happiness have been rehabilitated from irrelevant to necessary. It may not be an avalanche, but proponents are showing up in unusual places: a book by an environmental conservationist, another by an historian philosopher, and a Mother Jones article about the economy. Can this portend a trend?

»