Government / Politics

Often downplayed of their role in both planning efforts and in the economy, tribal governments are working collaboratively with other local governments in Oklahoma to help build and maintain roads.

June 29, 2012 - Tulsa World

In pollution-heavy San Joaquin Valley of California's Central Valley, some cities are considering replacing Fourth of July fireworks with laser light shows. Locals aren't so sure.

June 28, 2012 - Governing

On Friday, the US DOT awarded TIGER 2012 funds to 47 projects totaling $500 million -- far less than the $10.2 billion that was asked for from an astounding 703 applications from all 50 states.

June 28, 2012 - Transportation Nation

A unanimous decision by a 3-judge panel affirmed a central 2009 finding of the EPA that greenhouses gases pose a threat to public health, clearing the way for applying regulations controlling their emissions to stationary sources and vehicles.

June 28, 2012 - Reuters

As new research data on cities pours in daily, interesting patterns emerge regarding income, green space and urban growth. Like people in their genetic make-up, are cities fundamentally all the same?

June 28, 2012 - The Economist

Ernest Harsch interviews UN-Habitat Director Joan Clos on the challenges facing African cities in an age of unprecedented urbanization, from the abundance of slums to the threat of natural disasters.

June 27, 2012 - Independent Online

Anthony Flint reports on the actions of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative lobbying group that is working behind the scenes to weaken the power of local zoning restrictions.

June 27, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

As Baltimore wrestles with the difficult decision between closing fire stations or selling adspace on fire trucks, Michael Cooper reports on an approach more and more cities are taking to curb budget shortfalls.

June 26, 2012 - New York Times

An urban renewal development reaches a violent climax as a clash breaks out between construction workers and protesters.

June 26, 2012 - Taipei Times

John Schlichting has been a developer for 26 years, but on July 9th he leaves private business to become the planning director for the City of Gaithersburg, Maryland.

June 26, 2012 - The Maryland Gazette

In this excerpt from the new book, "City Rules: How Regulations Affect Urban Form," author Emily Talen outlines the ways in which zoning ordinances, building codes and other bureaucratic restrictions negatively affect urban areas.

June 26, 2012 - City Limits

Sandy Springs, Georgia has taken the libertarian tip and privatized almost every city service - including planning. So does it work?

June 25, 2012 - The New York Times

Despite many studies confirming the effect of induced traffic, the effect is often ignored in the transport models used for project appraisal, says a team of Scandanavian researchers creating an extreme bias in the assessment of new projects.

June 25, 2012 - European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research

The federal government gives more research and development subsidies to fossil fuels than clean energy technologies. But, why?

June 24, 2012 - Grist

Under intense political pressure to retain the full application of the CA Environmental Quality Act to CA High Speed Rail project, Gov. Brown withdrew his proposal to allow the project certain exceptions to lawsuits.

June 23, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Announced this week by Deputy Mayor Robert Steel, a new program being launched by the Department of City Planning on July 2 will seek to dramatically improve the time it takes a project to traverse the city's land use approval process.

June 22, 2012 - The Real Deal

Forever plagued with issues, from lack of funding to a lack of political support, Philadelphia's SEPTA mass-transit network is (again) on the verge of collapse.

June 22, 2012 - Philadelphia City Paper

While glimmers of a recovery can be seen in the eyes of private business, local governments continue to see red, shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs.

June 21, 2012 - The New York Times

Hot on the heels of the hard fought passage of a new community plan for Hollywood comes news that the City Council has approved five years of funding for L.A.'s planning department to revise the city's zoning code, for the first time since 1946.

June 21, 2012 - Curbed LA

The demolition of a Tulsa resident's edible garden, deemed "too tall" by city inspectors, has sparked a civil rights lawsuit, and is generating national attention.

June 21, 2012 - Grist