United States
The Right Interventions to Restore Confidence in Weak Markets
Housing affordability is too often seen as the way to stabilize and revitalize weak markets. Neighborhood planning consultants Charles Buki and Elizabeth Humphrey Schilling argue that interventions in weak markets must encourage investment by improving market confidence.
Carjacked: The Culture of the Automobile and Its Effect on Our Lives
Planetizen talks with Anne Lutz Fernandez, author of the new book Carjacked: The Culture of the Automobile and Its Effect on Our Lives, about how Americans feel about their cars, the Starbucks Effect, and the built environment.
Notes on Structural Change: Redefining the Problem of Weak Markets
The foreclosure crisis spreading across America has burdened cities and neighborhoods with value-draining vacancies and abandoned properties. To counteract the economic havoc they've caused, planners and policymakers must focus on restoring confidence in the market, according to neighborhood planning consultants Charles Buki and Elizabeth Humphrey Schilling.
Moving the Tipping Point for Creative Places
Human-scaled, creative development isn't getting built because most of the money in real estate comes from institutional investors that prefer predictable, large scale projects like subdivisions and strip malls, says Neil Takemoto of CoolTown Beta Communities.
Americans Buying Less, Doing More
Americans are starting to value experiences over things, according to a new poll. Nearly half of Americans report spending less time purchasing non-essential goods, while many are spending more time on friends, family, and hobbies.
New York Times
The State of Happiness
A new study ranks the U.S. states by residents' happiness. From Louisiana (#1) to New York (#51), the happiest people tend to live in sunny, outdoorsy states with strong quality of life measures.
USA Today
Is Walkscore A Useful Planning Tool?
The online walkability tool is sexy but not perfect. Real estate site are beginning to use it; could planners use it too? Bill Fulton gives his two cents.
California Planning & Development Report
Decay in Suburbia
Fast Company pulls together a handful of recent reports to paint a grim picture for the suburbs, as the number of people living in poverty rises, housing values decline, and infrastructure built in the 60s and 70s erodes.
Fast Company
Saving Money By Converting Asphalt to Gravel
In an effort to cut transportation maintenance costs, some cities are ditching their asphalt roads and going back to gravel.
USA Today
Fewer Bedrooms, Bathrooms in Shrinking Homes
Custom Home Magazine reports that not only are home sizes down for the first time in 30 years, but the number of bedrooms and bathrooms is down in new homes as well.
CustomHomeOnline
Hopping the HSR to Future Detroit
America 2050 releases a new video imagining what a commute in future Detroit could look like, including car sharing, high-speed rail, and a light rail connector.
America 2050
Grants Signal Shift in Federal Urban Planning Policy
HUD announced this week the formation of a new Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, along with $100 million in grants for regional integrated planning initiatives.
The Seattle Times
Going Beyond the "Numbers Game"
Froma Harrop responds to Joel Kotkin's view that booming centers -- mostly in the Sunbelt -- represent the future of American urbanism.
Truthout
Changing Preferences for Aging Boomers
A survey of Baby Boomers finds an increasing willingness to move after retirement, and the new tipping point for "old age".
Builder
Paying Toll at a Tollbooth? There's An App For That
Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) is about to test run a system where drivers can pay their toll using only their iPhone, Blackberry, or MS Windows Mobile-enabled phone.
TOLLROADSnews
Global Warming? It's All About Land Use
In a new report looking at how cities in the American West can fight global warming, the authors conclude that the best strategy is to focus on economic and energy efficiency through smart growth.
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy blog
Comparing Five of The Nation's Biggest Transit Systems
GOOD takes a look at five of the nation's biggest public transit systems and compares their ridership, average speeds, and average miles per trip.
Good
American High Speed Rail: Transportation and Jobs
The Infrastructurist's Melissa Lafsky is on Fox Business to discuss the prospect of high speed rail in America -- both in terms of transportation and jobs.
Fox Business
What Can GIS Do For You?
Allison Arieff takes a look at some of the ways GIS and other data-visualization technologies can help to address urban problems.
NYTimes: Opinionator Blog
Bike Sharing Rolls Nationwide
2010 may become a tipping-point for bike-share programs with new pilots popping up in Denver, Boston and Minneapolis.
Marketplace Radio





















