The New Republic

Sarah Williams Goldhagen profiles The Sea Ranch; despite its failure as an alternative to suburban sprawl, it is considered a model for its environmentally sensitive, "sublimely beautiful" development.

Nicholas Lehmann wrote a review earlier this week wrapping up all of the latest planning books like Ed Glaeser's Triumph of the City into one hodgepodge critique that boiled down to a defense of the suburbs.

The New York Times, in a front page article, was startled to conclude that the housing market continued to suffer, because "buyers now demand something smaller, cheaper and, thanks to $4 a gallon gas, as close to their jobs as possible."

The debate over urbanism often pits suburbs against urban areas. But the real debate is about walkable areas versus car-dependent ones, according to Christopher Leinberger.

The city of Detroit is increasingly characterized through imagery of its abandoned and decaying buildings. This piece from The New Republic says it's time to stop.

The deficit commission has proposed a 15-cent gas tax, which would fund the Highway Trust Fund for needed infrastructure projects as opposed to deficit reduction. Brooking's Robert Puentes explains why it was included.

Participation rates for the 2010 Census have been released, and the national average of 74% matches that of the previous Census in 2000.

Christopher Leinberger argues that regardless of current coping strategies, the mortgage crisis is permanently reshaping cities and their edges.

The New Republic offers a look and review of some of the nation's best new urban parks.

The Brookings Institution's Robert Puentes reports back on a recent discussion about Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's 30/10 plan -- the idea to cram 30 years worth of transit investments into 10.

This post from The New Republic explains how the federal budget includes plans to upgrade some of the varied parts that track statistics in the country.

The federal government recently rejected a proposal by the state of Pennsylvania to toll Interstate 80. Robert Puentes argues that the decision is exactly what's holding metropolitan areas back from solving their transportation problems.

Metropolitan officials in the Sun Corridor of Arizona are increasingly working together to form a self-organized super-region, according to this analysis.

Metropolitan region's make up a major part of the U.S. in terms of population and economic activity. Accordingly, the Brookings Institution was surprised to see how little of the government's first year stimulus package went to those areas.

The housing market -- and especially the exurban housing market -- played a major role in bringing about the current economic recession, according to this piece from Christopher Leinberger. He says sprawl is unlikely to regain its lost value.

Detroit can come back using the model of European countries that downsized and densified, restructured their industries and created incubators for innovation, say Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley of Brookings.

This piece from The New Republic looks at the "urban disaster" of Detroit and compares it to other cities that have come on tough times in the past. Cities like Belfast and Turin offer examples of how Detroit can come back from the dead.

Undercounting is likely one of the biggest challenges facing the U.S. Census Bureau as it prepares to run its decennial census in April. Certain parts of the country will prove problematic when it comes time to count.

Significant interest and investment has descended on a plan to create vast solar power plants in the Sahara Desert to power Europe, but the challenges are great, says Reuters.

Some have grumbled at the Obama Administration's recently-announced standards for light bulbs. But changing industry standards for lighting would have no small effect, says Mark Muro of Brookings.