United States, California
Great Places in Balance With Nature: Beyond Low Impact Development
As an emerging area of sustainable practice, Low Impact Development's current one-size-fits-all application is inadequate to effectively fulfill its guiding principles, writes Jonathan Ford, who proposes five LID planning and design strategies for achieving great places in balance with nature.
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The Smart Math of Mixed-Use Development
Are cities across the country acting negligently in ignoring the property tax implications of different development types? Joseph Minicozzi thinks so, and he's done the math to prove it.
Mapping Transportation and Health in the United States
What is the relationship between car travel and health outcomes in the United States? Ariel Godwin and Anne Price challenge the claim that more time in the car decreases your health by looking at the impacts of education, income, and employment rates.
The Appeal of In-Town Big Box
Emily Badger recounts the litany of gripes about Big Box stores, then proceeds to present the results of a recent study that shows why they may not be so bad after all.
The Atlantic Cities
The Growing Appeal of Drinking From the Toilet
Felicity Barringer reports on the growing practice of recycling treated wastewater as drinking water in southwestern cities attempting to address diminishing water supplies.
The New York Times
Could Good Design Have Prevented the Housing Crisis?
Architect Jeanne Gang and scholar Greg Lindsay have penned an opinion piece in which they investigate the ways in which designers and planners can fix the housing crisis by responding to economic, demographic, and cultural changes.
NY Times
Can An Electric Bike Replace A Car?
San Francisco will launch a pioneering electric bike share program this year, with the hope that pricing will help nudge consumers towards more efficient decisions, writes Sarah Laskow.
Good
Putting the Bloom Back on the Rose Bowl
An Urban Land Institute panel of experts has delivered a vision for how to revitalize the historic Rose Bowl and its environs.
Urban Land Institute
Friday Funny: Smellvertising, Coming to a Bus Stop Near You
John Metcalfe reports on an advertising campaign appearing at bus stops across the UK featuring a fiberglass potato sculpture and a mysterious odor emitting button.
The Atlantic Cities
Senate Yeas While House Nays on Transportation
Ben Goldman follows the recent developments as the Senate and House Transportation bills make their way through the Capitol.
Streetsblog D.C.
Super Slim Me?
Kaid Benfield looks at recent trends in the housing sector and asks whether America's infatuation with the McMansion is over.
Switchboard
NYT Editorial Blasts House Transportation Bill
Calling it "uniquely terrible", the Times questions whether it will even survive a full floor vote in the House. The editorial lists three major problems with the bill, but notes there are many more.
The New York Times - The Opinion Pages
The Staying Power of Green Jobs
Sarah Laskow reports on new findings that show California’s green economy fared much better in the economic downturn than the economy as a whole, demonstrating the overall staying power of green jobs.
Good
Silicon Valley Primed for Facebook Real Estate Boom
Silicon Valley real estate agents and residents are primed for the potential rush of "newly minted Facebook millionaires," now that the company is on its way to becoming publicly traded.
The New York Times
Getting Bullish on Housing
Peter Coy and Prashant Gopal report on recent developments in the housing market that may signal a solution to the four-year-old crisis.
Bloomberg/Business Week
How to Survive An Earthquake in the Bay Area
When the Big One strikes the Bay Area you'll want to be on the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge, set to open next year. Its flexibility will allow it to ride the earthquake.
The New York Times
After the Death of Redevelopment, Utilizing the Tools at Hand
In an editorial for The Sacramento Bee, William Fulton outlines the multitude of resources and strategies currently available to assist Californian cities in proceeding with redevelopment.
The Sacramento Bee
Will a Liberated Workforce Still Need Cities?
Kaid Benfield investigates the rise of a more independent and nimble workforce, and ponders what the new economy means for the shape of cities as we enter an urban epoch
Switchboard
Using the Wrong Metrics for Creating Great Streets
Gary Toth considers the damage to the quality of our streets and urban environments caused by the use of travel projection models and Levels of Service (LOS) as performance metrics.
Project For Public Spaces
House and Senate Transportation Bills on a Collision Course
As the bi-partisan Senate transportation bill cues up for its first vote on Thursday and the partisan House bill gets roughed up in committee, the prospects for reconciling the bills seems dim.
The Washington Post





















