Government / Politics
The Street Hacker Finds an Open Source Embrace in SF
Emily Badger tracks the hacking phenomenon as it migrates from the virtual to the physical world, and the official channels that are embracing and facilitating its emergence.
Proposed Pittsburgh Transit Cuts Spark Outrage
An unprecedented 35 percent transit service reduction scheduled to commence on September 2 has united Pittsburgh lawmakers, business owners, and medical professionals in opposition, reports Jon Schmit.
WSJ Hears From CA Smart Growth Bill Author
The Wall Street Journal printed a response to the Wendall Cox opinion, “California Declares War on Suburbia” by none other than the author of the bill (SB 375) that Cox holds responsible for the war, Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg.
India's Megacity Discusses its Mega-Problems
Naresh Fernandes chronicles a recent upsurge in events providing opportunities for Mumbai's residents, and fascinated guests, to discuss the city's myriad challenges, and possible solutions. But can all the talk result in real action?
Is Portland Well Planned? Its Mayor Doesn't Think So
Mayor Sam Adams pens an opinion piece for Grist in which he considers why Portland is not as well planned as it could be, and how a different approach to planning is necessary for American cities to address their most pressing challenges.
Is London Next in Line to Embrace the Bike?
Kaya Burgess and Rhoda Buchanan report on a ride for cyclists' rights in the English capital, where political support for more inclusive streets is gaining momentum.
Making Metros Work
In an opinion piece for The Denver Post, Neal Peirce summarizes a new report on the practical ways in which metropolitan regions around the country are working across jurisdictional boundaries to lay the groundwork for prosperous futures.
Obama Attacks GOP Over Transportation Bill
In a speech yesterday to the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Department Conference, President Obama made his most pointed remarks yet on the failure of the House to take up the Senate's bipartisan transportation bill.
How Can We Create Effective Regional Planning?
Kaid Benfield looks at shortcomings of the dominant national apparatus for regional planning - the Metropolitan Planning Organization - through the lens of transportation, and pines for new mechanisms for regional cooperation.
Surveying Four Years of "Borisopolis"
As London's next mayoral election draws near, Rowan Moore evaluates the good and the bad in planning, architecture, and design from Mayor Boris Johnson's first four years at the helm.
Next Transportation Bill In The Works, Finally!
SAFETEA-LU, the 2005 surface transportation funding bill, expired two years and seven months ago. Nine extensions later, the House and Senate will sit down and work out its successor in a conference committee after the House passed a tenth extension.
Denver Experiments With Participatory Budgeting
Bill Fulton and Chris Haller look at Denver's recent efforts to involve its residents in helping to solve next years anticipated $94 million budget gap.
Toronto Revives Transit Plan, Despite Mayoral Disapproval
Yonah Freemark reports on the implausible turn of events that has Toronto transit boosters back on the course they charted five years ago, pursuing the much-debated Transit City plan.
Should NIMBYs Decide a City's Future?
As much-needed residential development projects in Boston prepare to seek their necessary approvals, George Thrush explores how a plague of "refusenicks" threaten to cost the city its competitive edge.
What Value Does An Infrastructure Bank Provide?
As the concept of infrastructure banks gets increasingly bandied about (see Emanuel, Rahm and Obama, Barack), Aaron M. Renn examines what exactly they do for us that we can’t already do.
City Deficits "Driven" by Suburban Patterns
As San Diego is paralyzed by the cost to maintain its infrastructure, Howard Blackson revels in a eureka moment, provided by Chuck Marohn, in recognizing the city's explicitly suburban pattern of development is a well-documented financial blunder.
Who Can Solve London's Great Challenges?
Against the backdrop of a made-for-tv mayoral election, Richard Florida looks at the litany of issues afflicting London as the city struggles with the deepest challenges it has faced since the Great Depression and post-war years.
The Biggest NYC Infrastructure Project You Haven't Heard of...
NYC's long-declining waterfront industry is expected to experience a new boom time, as the expansion of the Panama Canal will allow double the cargo and much larger ships to call at New York's harbor by 2024.
Ramping Up Attacks on California's Planners
The Wall Street Journal's obsession with planning in California continued this past weekend, as they asked Joel Kotkin, demographer and "Truman Democrat", to discuss what he believes is driving "the great California exodus".
Mitt Romney: Smart Growth Champion?
Lisa Hymas has a fascinating look at the anti-sprawl effort championed by Mitt Romney during his time as Governor of Massachusetts, which became the model for a key Obama “smart growth” initiative — the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
