Center for Public Integrity

The concept of "livability" seems to be catching on -- both at a local level and up in the federal government. This is especially true in the Department of Transportation. That could mean bad news for the road building lobby.

The Center for Public Integrity continues its investigation into who is influencing transportation policy at the federal level. They found that lack of governmental focus has left the door open for developers to point the way.

In the 2nd part of an expose featured previously on Planetizen, reporter Matthew Lewis uncovers the significant number of lobbyists influencing transportation policy in Washington.

The Center for Public Integrity runs the numbers, and finds that Americans are cashing in on "Cash for Clunkers" at a rate of $77 million a day, vs. $39 million for the first-time homebuyer credit.

Due to economic hardship, the Worcester County, Maryland is proposing to consolidate 3 departments into 1, cutting 11 jobs out of 65, just as new codes are coming online. Environmentalists are concerned.

DeLuca Homes planned to build condos in Bucks County, PA- until the bottom fell out of the market. Now they're one of many developers cutting deals with governments to create open space.

Enterprising Native American communities are using their sovereignty to approve large projects that would be difficult to clear on neighboring lands, like landfills and casinos. Industry is happy to oblige, and directly targets the Native market.