United States, California

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

The Onion reports on a study showing that a vast majority of Americans want further investments in public transit so everyone else can get off the road and make their drive faster.

Satirist Stephen Colbert demands an explanation why the U.S. no longer has the world's tallest skyscrapers while construction is booming overseas.

Forbes works with the Center for Neighborhood Technology to find the best neighborhoods to get around affordably.

The Bureau of Land Management has reversed course on a proposed moratorium on the construction of solar projects on public land.

The Mississippi and Missouri rivers were once dramatically wider, but a century of re-engineering has constricted their courses, making "flood magnification" inevitable.

UC Irvine student Cristi Lopes is writing software for "SkyTran", a virtual high-speed train based in Second Life. The virtual world will actually serve as a useful simulator for the real thing.

In an effort to reduce shipping costs, Wal-Mart is cutting its food miles and passing the savings on to customer by selling locally grown produce.

A new study suggests that getting freight onto trains and off of trucks would have a significant impact on traffic.

T.J. Kelly was finding it difficult to squeeze in exercise, and looking at his rising commute costs. A new co-worker helped him turn his commute into a workout.

Critic John King reflects on how common assumptions of Bay Area residents about urban growth boundaries and protesting nuclear power are challenged by the growing problem of climate change and energy access.

Foreclosed homes are creating blight in urban and suburban areas all across the country, lowering property values by more than $200 billion.

A new study conducted by University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Pittsburgh and Duke University says that the scourge of gentrification is greatly exaggerated.

In what may be the silver lining of the current economic climate, high fuel costs and carbon restrained economies may spell the end for unsustainable planning and development patterns in California, according to Rick Cole, City Manager of Ventura.

A deal between a Montana timber company and conservationists to preserve 320,000 acres of forest is the largest land conservation in U.S. history.

Older districts are often marked by high property values and traditional architecture, but it's not just aesthetics and history that define them. Some historic neighborhoods have gone through vast changes, while others don't appear "historic" at all.

Business Week looks at a recent list of the best cities for design in America.

The article suggests that rising gas prices, enduring subprime mortgage crisis, and some changing demographics (i.e., the aging of Baby Boomers) are all contributing to the greater popularity of central city neighborhoods.

Citing the great burden America's cities are bearing due to the war in Iraq, a coalition of Mayors allied with anti-war groups tabled a resolution opposing military action against Iran at the recent Conference of Mayors.