Government / Politics

The city of Vernon, California, fought hard recently to avoid disincorporation. The price of that fight has drained the city's coffers, and now some say it's too deep in the hole to function properly.

December 29, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

Gentrification has come to signify wealthier residents pushing lower-income residents out of a community, but gentrification also has some "undeniable upsides". Ward 8 in Washington D.C. offers a glimpse into how gentrification can aid a community.

December 28, 2011 - Salon.com

Five years after Gilberto Kassab, the mayor of São Paulo, Brazil passed the "Clean City Law", banning all visual pollution around the city, both citizens and businesses are thankful.

December 28, 2011 - GOOD Magazine

NPR's Guy Raz re-interviews South Carolina Congressman Bob Inglis, one of only two Republicans not re-elected. Interviewed last year after losing his primary due to the Tea Party, NPR wanted an update on his activities and views on climate change.

December 28, 2011 - NPR: All Things Considered

New legislation by the Maharashtra State Governments would allow private land owners to apply for city boundary expansions as a tool to ease congestion.

December 27, 2011 - Hindustan Times

In her ongoing coverage of Missouri's I-70 expansion and state transportation deficits, Streetsblog's Angie Schmitt analyzes MO's consideration to double the state 17-cent state gas tax to finance the truck only lanes from Kansas City to St. Louis

December 27, 2011 - Streetsblog Network

After the earthquake, Haiti's recovery has not been in rebuilding the center city, but through decentralization and the development of farming. But even this plan, reports Randal Archibald, is fraught with challenges.

December 26, 2011 - The New York Times

Tom Miller, author of "Urban Billion," discusses the pitfalls and shortcomings of a too-quickly urbanizing Beijing in this interview with David Pierson.

December 24, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

According to Richard Platkin, the Hollywood Community Plan Update is merely one megaproject after the next--a huge mistake, and the antithesis to the Los Angeles General Plan Framekwork for good reason.

December 24, 2011 - City Watch

The largest regional plan in Clark County history, Henderson will be using the funds to more sustainably link transportation, land use, and people. Guy Dawson reports.

December 23, 2011 - The Henderson Press

Images from "The Atlantic Cities" offer a glimpse into the architectural landscape of Kim Jong-Il's dictatorship in North Korea.

December 23, 2011 - The Atlantic Cities

Allentown, PA is just one of many cities across the nation who have had to face tough decisions as their Community Development Block Grant funds shrink.

December 22, 2011 - The New York Times

After the Big Dig, the most expensive highway projects are subject to more rules, but use of funds is largely up to the states, who may come back for more money pending planning and design issues that arise.

December 21, 2011 - USA Today

Delhi was being celebrated as a capital for the first time, under British rule, a hundred years ago. This short piece from the Economist compares today's Delhi with the images of fanfare in December 1911.

December 21, 2011 - The Economist

Leon Neyfakh of The Boston Globe examines the unexpectedly cohesive political roots of the controversial civic symbol.

December 20, 2011 - The Boston Globe

A new park in Chicago aims to turn 140,000 acres of under-used and post industrial land along the Second City's southern rim into the country's largest urban park. Governor Pat Quinn hopes to add private funding to the $17m allotted by the state.

December 20, 2011 - The Atlantic

For almost a decade, security features have been added to the perimeters of important public buildings without regard for aesthetics, and now are being 'beautified,' across the nation.

December 19, 2011 - The Atlantic

Anthony Flint reports on a number of planning initiatives stopped in their tracks by protesting Tea Party members, who are strongly opposed to "smart growth communism."

December 19, 2011 - The Atlantic Cities

The stage moved to D.C. from Sacramento for the latest debate on the pros and cons of California's embattled HSR plan. The more vocal detractors from the Central Valley and Peninsula testified before the few members of the committee who attended.

December 18, 2011 - The Sacramento Bee - Transportation

About $20 million in all, the grants will go to improvements to the CTA and the city's first bikeshare program. This is just one of 46 projects nationwide getting funding this round from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

December 17, 2011 - Chicago Tribune