Government / Politics

Mayor Ignazio Marino of Rome has banned private vehicles from Via dei Fori Imperiali, built by Benito Mussolini to link his palace in Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum. Initially open to buses and taxis, it will eventually be completely pedestrianized.

August 6, 2013 - The New York Times - Europe

Two decades of phenomenal growth have transformed Nashville into 'one of America’s hottest success stories.' In an op-ed for The Tennessean, Bill Freeman argues that for the area to continue to grow wisely it will need to embrace regional planning.

August 5, 2013 - The Tennessean

BART commuters were undoubtedly delighted to board trains on Monday morning thanks to Gov. Jerry Brown's last minute action to return BART employees to work for one week while a panel investigates why negotiations have stalled.

August 5, 2013 - San Francisco Chronicle

Everybody's a progressive in Berkeley, right? As recent struggles over land use make clear, it depends on what you mean by "progressive."

August 5, 2013 - Dissent

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, emergency manager Kevyn Orr explains how his own experiences living in once-derelict, now-thriving cities leave him optimistic about Detroit's revival.

August 5, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

While MTA’s East Side Access project, which will bring Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) trains directly to Grand Central Terminal by 2019, has received much attention, less well-know is a complementary plan to bring Metro-North trains to Penn Station.

August 5, 2013 - City & State

Middlemen, private jets, communication blackouts: providing design services to the world's most reclusive regime isn't easy. Mark Byrnes describes how one architecture and planning firm was selected to redesign North Korea's airports.

August 3, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

After incurring $4.8 billion in repair costs from superstorm Sandy, NY's MTA had a hard time buying insurance. It's utilizing an innovative tool - called a catastrophe bond - to help prepare financially for a damaging storm surge in the near future.

August 3, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Recently it was announced that D.C. had reached a tentative agreement to help fund a new soccer stadium to be built in an area of the city that has long resisted redevelopment. Stadiums are generally a bad deal for cities, but is this an exception?

August 3, 2013 - Washington City Paper

Four former EPA heads in Republican administrations, from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush, have penned an op-ed in The Times calling on members of all parties to support President Obama's recent climate initiatives and do more to curtail warming.

August 2, 2013 - The New York Times

Same drill, round two. After almost a month of apparently fruitless negotiations, the unions gave a 72-hour notice of going on strike. Unless an agreement is reached, 200,000 Bay Area rail riders will need to find alternatives for the Monday commute

August 2, 2013 - San Jose Mercury News

Discussion on increasing user fee revenue has centered on increasing and/or indexing the gas tax and applying VMT fees. Now some are pushing a return of the original user fee - road tolls applied by states or regions on interstate highways.

August 2, 2013 - Governing

In the face of vocal opposition, Vancouver's city council approved a proposed bike route and greenway. For one former councillor, if a third of the speakers in hostile public meetings support a project, that's enough to indicate a silent majority.

August 1, 2013 - The Globe and Mail

Recent reports have documented an alarming rise in poverty levels across America. With the federal government cutting funding for social programs serving the poor, cities are stepping into the void by creating anti-poverty centers.

August 1, 2013 - Governing

A controversial House bill that proposed drastic spending cuts to Transportation and Housing programs was pulled from the floor yesterday after Republicans balked at supporting the cuts outlined in Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) budget.

August 1, 2013 - The Hill

After a long confirmation delay, Gina McCarthy, the new head of the U.S. Environmental Protections Agency, has wasted little time wading into the controversy over the agency's (and administration's) role in addressing climate change.

July 31, 2013 - The Washington Post

Nancy Levinson, editor of Places Journal, argues that it's time for feminist architects to engage the larger sphere of political activism with concrete objectives.

July 31, 2013 - Places Journal

An expose has uncovered the 'cloak-and-dagger tactics' being utilized in a $1 million campaign to defend Dallas's Museum Tower luxury condo building from claims that glare from its glass skin is a nuisance to the Nasher Sculpture Center.

July 31, 2013 - The Dallas Morning News

Monorails, reinstating the 'commuter tax,' and a city takeover of the MTA are among the proposals being bandied about by the candidates vying to become New York City's next mayor. Just one problem: they're all pie in the sky, say observers.

July 31, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Rising property tax revenues, tax hikes, and the broader economic recovery are driving the longest municipal government hiring streak in the United States since 2008. However, many jobs eliminated during the recession won't be returning.

July 30, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal