Government / Politics

Cleveland's Land Bank Fights Blight of Foreclosures

With a high rate of foreclosure, Cleveland instituted a land bank to rein in rampant vacancies. After two years, the program has made some headway.

August 30, 2011 - NPR

California Cities Hoping Projects Lure Teams and Development

Cities across California are proposing new stadium projects in hopes of luring football teams and economic growth as a result of their new megadevelopments.

August 30, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

Tea Party Creates Headaches For Planners

Tea Party activists have spoken out at regional planning meetings in California to protest what some consider conspiratorial plans to crush civil liberties under the guise of smart growth.

August 29, 2011 - California Planning & Development Report

Extreme Makeover: Housing Policies Edition

As consumer real estate debt surpasses $9 trillion, TIME magazine examines four radical proposals that top policymakers and economists think will help turn things around.

August 28, 2011 - Time

Is "Nuisance Abatement Team" a Legitimate Use of Police Power?

In Antelope Valley, Calif., questionable code enforcement practices encroach the Fifth Amendment taking clause while the obfuscation of facts by public officials mars the transparent aspect of the planning process.

August 27, 2011 - Boing Boing

CA Air Board Sticks With Cap & Trade

The CA Air Board reaffirmed their decision to stick with the cap and trade approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions rather than an alternative mechanism such as a carbon fee - a decision that did not please the environmental justice litigants.

August 27, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

Lending Program Could Replace National Infrastructure Bank

Obama supports Boxer's 2-year transportation reauthorization bill over Mica's 6-year bill. However, both bills greatly increase funding for the Transportation Infrastructure and Innovative Finance Act.

August 25, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

Airport Redesign Brings New Park to Berlin

Plans are moving ahead to convert Berlin's Tempelhof airfield into the city's newest park.

August 25, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

Drugs and Economic Success in El Paso

El Paso is seen as one of the more successful mid-sized cities in the U.S. But as this op-ed from Domus explores, the fuel behind that success is the drug trafficking that has plagued Mexico and its border with the U.S.

August 25, 2011 - domus

Yacht Parking for Boat Race Takes Too Much from San Francisco

As San Francisco prepares to host the 2013 America's Cup regatta, plans to use parts of the city's scenic waterfront for spectators' yacht parking edge too far into the public realm, according to this piece from the San Francisco Chronicle.

August 25, 2011 - San Francisco Chronicle

Seattle Land Use Code Book Review: Do It Over

Roger Valdez set out to read and review the entire land use code of the city of Seattle. Now that he's done, he says it's time to rewrite the whole thing.

August 25, 2011 - Crosscut

The Boon in British Cycling

A new report from the London School of Economics looks at the “cycling economy” that is taking the United Kingdom by storm and the economic benefits generated by individual cyclists.

August 25, 2011 - TheCityFix.com

Creating A Silicon Valley in Russia

Officials in Russia are hoping to create their own version of Silicon Valley by luring tech companies to the Skolkovo innovation hub.

August 24, 2011 - Financial Times

The High Cost of Status Quo Infrastructure

Infrastructure costs are towering in the U.S., but much of that could be because of old habits in road building. This column looks at how cities and states can reduce their infrastructure costs.

August 23, 2011 - Citiwire

Mag-Lev Project Meets Approval in Japan

Japanese officials recently approved plans to build a 320-mile magnetic levitation train system. The $114 billion project is expected to begin construction in 2014.

August 23, 2011 - Ecomagination

Struggles and Success in Two Neighboring Stadium Towns

Two neighboring towns -- one with a bustling soccer stadium and the other with a struggling minor league baseball stadium -- offer a story of changing times in the U.S.

August 23, 2011 - The New York Times

A Russia-U.S. Tunnel?

Russian officials are pushing a plan to build a tunnel connecting Russian territory to the United States.

August 23, 2011 - MSNBC

Housing Advocate Jack Layton Dies at 61

Jack Layton, longtime advocate for a national housing policy in Canada has succumbed to cancer just months after leading his New Democratic Party from third party status to official opposition.

August 22, 2011 - Toronto Star

$417 Million To Fund Highway Projects

Last week, the Federal Highway Administration awarded discretionary highway grants in what could be among the last expenditures before the Sept. 30 expiration of the gas tax. Included were $8m for Value Pricing Pilot Program projects in 5 states.

August 22, 2011 - FHWA Press Release

My Future City is Houston?

The BMW Guggenheim Lab has released an online urban planning game called "Urbanology," which asks a serious of questions to determine the type of city you think is the future.

August 22, 2011 - TheCityFix.com

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.