Government / Politics

Code Violations Land 'Phonehenge' Builder in Jail

A Superior Court Judge has ordered the jailing of the builder of an elaborate and eccentric set of unpermitted buildings in the exurbs north of Los Angeles.

July 13, 2011 - Salon

L.A.'s Planning Director Trying to Do More with Less

Despite a budget significantly smaller than his predecessors had, Los Angeles Planning Director Michael LoGrande is hoping to bring about major changes in the way the city gets things done.

July 13, 2011 - LA Downtown News

Obama Launches Strong Cities, Strong Communities Initiative In 6 Cities

Six pilot cities are selected for the launch of a new federal, interagency initiative know as 'Strong Cities, Strong Communities': Fresno, New Orleans, Detroit, Cleveland, Memphis and Chester, PA.

July 12, 2011 - The White House blog

Will L.A.'s Mayor Fight Prop 13?

Increasingly seen as an ineffective tool, the property tax limiting Proposition 13 has been derided in California for decades. Now, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa looks to be willing to argue against the politically sensitive law.

July 12, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

Mayors Push Gas Tax to Fund Transit in Vancouver

A group of mayor in the metropolitan Vancouver area have proposed an increase in the gas tax to develop a fund for a long-stalled transit project.

July 12, 2011 - The Globe and Mail

The Uneasy Transition in Post-Recession Seattle

While some have pigeonholed him as anti-business, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is taking the city through the recovery of the economy in a positive but potentially hard-to-swallow way, according to this column.

July 12, 2011 - The Seattle Times

Keeping Rail On Track

Rail projects throughout the U.S. are hard hit by the downturn in the economy. The agencies behind them are trying to find ways to keep the projects from falling apart.

July 12, 2011 - Architect Magazine

Projects Die As Redevelopment Agencies Try to Survive

Legislation in California that officially dissolves its redevelopment agencies offers them the chance to stay alive -- but at a cost that may be too high for some.

July 12, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

The Challenge of Long-Term Planning

The sometimes decades-long gap between cause and effect makes it difficult to reverse long-standing transportation & planning policies, says Ben Brown.

July 11, 2011 - PlaceShakers

Why California Should Increase Car Tax

George Skelton of The Los Angeles Times contends that one of Schwarzenegger's biggest blunders as governor of California was lowering the vehicle license fee to 0.65%.

July 11, 2011 - The Los Angeles Times

Making Cities Smarter By Making Urban Data Digestible

Making urban data available is important, but not as important as presenting that data in a digestible way, according to this piece from Change Observer.

July 10, 2011 - Change Observer

Easy Zoning and Emergent Urbanism

The emergent urbanism of informal settlements has posed problems to governments in the Third World, and some are looking to address equality issues by issuing land titles. But one approach skips the titles and focuses on simple zoning.

July 10, 2011 - Old Urbanist

Subsidizing Sprawl Through Relocation Tax Breaks

A new study from the nonprofit research center Good Jobs First looks into how relocation tax breaks for businesses have encouraged sprawl in the Cleveland and Cincinnati metropolitan areas.

July 9, 2011 - Crain's Cleveland Business

Detroit's Angel Foundation Reconsiders Support

The well-heeled foundation that's been pumping money into civic projects in Detroit is now reconsidering the role it's playing and how much it wants to contribute.

July 9, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

Ideological Clash Over Transportation Bill

A proposal to cut transportation funding by chairman of the House transportation committee John Mica (R-Fla.) received wide criticism from the Democrat counterpart.

July 8, 2011 - The Washington Post

Urbanist Heavyweights Compare European and US Planning

Leading urban thinkers weigh-in on a debate of the merits of European and US approaches to urban planning, with a specific focus on the place of automobiles in cities. Ed Glaeser, Ellen Dunham-Jones, and Sam Staley are among the contributors.

July 8, 2011 - The New York Times

LA's Pilot Express Lanes Coming Soon

California Report previews 25 miles of new express or high occupancy toll lanes coming to LA as a pilot project paid from the competitive value pricing grant program under President Bush. The lanes currently are reserved for high occupancy vehicles

July 8, 2011 - The California Report

Obama's Housing Policy Expanded

At a town hall meeting this week, President Obama proposed a new initiative that would give unemployed homeowners more wiggle room on their late mortgage payments.

July 8, 2011 - The Washington Post

600,000 Jobs Depend on New Transpo Bill, Says US Senator

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) says that the US economy could lose up to 600,000 jobs if a transportation reauthorization bill is not passed by September 30.

July 8, 2011 - Streetsblog

Discrimination Case Over Katrina Housing Settled

A discrimination lawsuit filed against the federal government and the state of Louisiana was settled this week in favor of homeowners who claimed that the way funds were distributed was biased against the poor.

July 7, 2011 - The New York Times

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.