USA Today

When big boxes go under, they leave big holes. Communities across America are coming up with some creative ways to reuse the huge spaces left behind when big box retailers move out.

Colleges across the country are trying new incentive programs to get students to leave their cars behind when school starts.

A new census of Muslim congregations is reviving controversies over how many Muslims are in the U.S., how they are counted and why it matters.

This article from USA Today looks at how some big cities are reacting to rising energy prices. Two examples from metropolitan Phoenix highlight the fact that it is not only suburbs that are being forced to respond.

Some states have made progress in repairing old bridges since the 2007 Minneapolis bridge collapse, but many states still have thousands in disrepair. Billions are needed to get them up-to-date.

Flood waters along the Mississippi River continue to rise, leaving many Midwest towns deep under water. The Army Corps of Engineers has just identified 27 levees that may not be high enough to handle the rising waters.

At one time, Oklahoma City is doing two things many cities have only hoped to: the city's getting rid of one of its aging inner-city highways and replacing it with a park.

Minneapolis is one of several cities that have filed lawsuits against mortgage companies, seeking damages for the blight caused by the large number of foreclosures in some of its neighborhoods.

Aging sewage systems in municipalities across the country are falling into disrepair, resulting in massive leaks and spills that threaten drinking water and public health.

States are helping homeowners who want to have a more eco-friendly lifestyle by overturning homeowner association regulations that ban solar panels and wind turbines.

Transit operators around the country are looking at ways to make taking public transportation even more environmentally friendly.

After noticing a illegally parked police car, a Portland, Oregon lawyer made use of a state law provision that allows private citizens to issue parking tickets.

Cookie cutter subdivisions typically associated with American suburbs are popping up in the outskirts of cities in countries as far away as Argentina, China and Pakistan.

In response to the growing demand for urban greenspace, cities around the nation on working on plans for large new parks -- rivaling the urban park boom during the 19th or early 20th century.

Sales of automobiles are down across the board -- except for the segment of small, fuel-efficient vehicles.

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.

Resulting from high numbers of car accidents involving people from out of town, cities across the country are adopting measures that charge drivers and their insurance companies for the city services performed at crash sites.

Toll hikes are on the horizon in many states. This article outlines some of the new rates affecting drivers.

As women become a larger segment of the nation's urban population, more planners are recognizing the importance of addressing the concerns of women through urban design.

By creating "green collar" jobs, cities across the country are creating jobs and helping the environment.