The St. Petersburg Times

The Senate passed two bills late last week that essentially killed growth management in Florida, eliminating the Dept. of Community Affairs and repealing a law from 1985 that required developers to assess impacts.

In a controversial move, new Florida Governor Rick Scott has appointed Billy Buzzett, vice-president at a development company, to lead the state's Department of Community Affairs.

MacDill Air Force Base has created a snarl of traffic in Tampa. Transportation planners are at a loss to find a solution so far.

A controversial ballot measure in November could put all Florida general plan changes to a public vote. The St. Petersburg City Council is attempting some sleight-of-hand with their land use map to avoid facing the voters.

The City Council of Zephyrhills, Florida is the latest public entity to come out against Amendment 4, a proposition that would require a public vote on any changes to local land use plans.

In Tampa, voters can't seem to untangle an upcoming one-cent sales tax to fund light rail with the Obama administration's recent $1.25 billion award for high-speed rail, though the funding is completely separate.

The "creative class" is using the Internet and the blog world to drum up new ideas for combating sprawl and placelessness. This article argues it's only a matter of time before these urban thinkers go from blogging to local politics.

In a certain part of downtown Tampa, Florida, people have been complaining for years about car alarms randomly going off, or not working at all. It turns out that a local radio station's signal interference is the cause.

The Florida Highway Patrol is urging bikers to "Ride Proud, Get Loud", but as one bikers says, "You know what that looks like? That looks like somebody at the Village People."

With the Tampa region one of only two top 25 metro areas without rails in the ground or on the drawing board, local leaders want to kick start the planning process. But is the region ready for light rail when only 1 percent of locals ride the bus?

The governors of Florida, Alabama and Georgia have come to a tentative agreement on how to divvy up the water supplied by shared rivers, giving hope that the 17-year water rights battle between the states may soon come to an end.

A traditional neighborhood development planned near St. Petersburg, Florida, is having trouble getting approved because its proposed density is twice as high as the city wants to allow.

Sixty-nine percent of Florida's voters approved an amendment to the State's Constitution to limit government ability to take property for private development. How will this homeowner victory impact the revitalization efforts of cities?

Cities and counties in and around the Tampa Bay area are incorporating elements of New Urbanism into their planning and land use codes.

Some homeowners are using their backyards as habitat for wildlife, providing food, water, shelter and a place to rear offspring for a variety of creatures.

How is Celebtration, FL, Disney's experiment to build a New Urbanist utopia, faring ten years after the first residents moved in?

Are commercial architects ruining St. Petersberg's historic panoramic views as a result of penny-pinching investors?

Environmental groups are warring with Congressmen on making wetland permitting more 'accessible'.

The City of Largo, Florida is next in a growing list of cities that have enacted design restrictions and store size caps for big box stores.

Within one year of adoption of its Strategic Plan, the City of Largo, Florida has attracted a $145 million investment for development a mixed-use town center.