NPR

Development has been creeping closer and closer to Palo Duro Canyon in Texas, the country's second biggest canyon. But despite a recent sale of nearby land to developers, preservationists have secured the deed to prevent sprawl from moving in.

Historically, green initiatives come about as responses to energy crises, but are abandoned when oil prices drop and the economy busts. This time around, though, that's less likely to happen.

Sometimes big box retailers get too big for the boxes they're in. So they move. What's left behind are huge empty buildings -- and opportunities for re-use.

Unlike many other states faced with the challenge of housing its homeless, Massachusetts is mandated by law to do so. Unfortunately, Massachusetts is also faced with budget shortfalls, making solutions elusive.

As their numbers increase, students from homeless families face a slew of new challenges to their education. Some families, this article reports, don’t even know that they still have a right to an education after losing their home.

Football and shopping become one in New England, where the owner of the New England Patriots NFL team has built a $300 million mall and entertainment complex next to the stadium.

Witold Rybczynski wrote The Last Harvest about a new development being created in an exurban cornfield. NPR visits the half-finished community with Witold, which is suffering from the economic crisis.

Denver is generally ready for the Democratic National Convention, but city officials have taken heat for security preparations.

Scenic resort towns are increasingly attracting older residents, creating a population boom that far surpasses growth rates in many cities and urban areas.

In this segment from NPR, a Dallas residential realtor talks about how his city -- where the average price has actually gone up about 2% over the last year -- has bucked the national downward housing trend.

This segment from NPR looks at results from a new study that show many poor neighborhoods actually have the potential for vibrant economies.

This segment from NPR looks at the economy of the central California city of Fresno, which has been named the least economically developed part of the country by a recent report.

The 'Nano', a tiny car that gets 47 miles to the gallon and has low emissions, is hitting the Indian market. Environmentalists worry that the car's advantages will be outweighed by the increase in car ownership it may bring to the country.

The eight states bordering on the five Great Lakes are about to come to an agreement about how the lakes' precious water is used and who can use it.

This segment from NPR looks at what's behind the trend of house prices falling more sharply outside of cities.

Washington D.C.'s recent lift of its citywide handgun ban could signal a change for other cities with similar bans, like L.A. and Atlanta.

This story from NPR looks at a new bike lane in New Orleans, and other efforts the city is taking to update its street infrastructure.

This segment from NPR features a discussion with Houston Mayor Bill White about the city's increasing congestion, the limits of zoning, and the population's reaction to rising gas prices.

As a Texas beach erodes and the waves come closer to shore, homeowners are scrambling to figure out what to do when the public beach invades their private property.

NPR reports on 'hypermilers', drivers who practice active gas-saving techniques like braking lightly and combining trips. One hypermiler says he isn't doing it to be green: 'The environment I'm concerned with is my wallet.'