Government / Politics

Officials in Washington tend to agree that infrastructure problems are in dire need of attention. But amid turbulent economic times, will those problems get that attention?

April 9, 2011 - National Journal

As the city of Los Angeles edges closer to approving the construction of a new sports stadium in downtown, this post from Curbed LA offers 10 suggestions on how the stadium could and should fit into the city.

April 9, 2011 - Curbed LA

This episode of 99% Invisible explores public spaces and their role in political change, and how over hundreds of years, riots have defined New York's Tompkins Square Park -- despite efforts to design unrest out.

April 9, 2011 - 99% Invisible

Vancouver is expanding its city-approved downtown street food vending program, with a recently approved list of new vendors allowed to cook and sell food from carts on the street.

April 8, 2011 - Globe and Mail

Canadian cities are facing major backlogs in terms of maintaining and updating infrastructure. Putting off the work is expected to cost cities billions.

April 8, 2011 - The Vancouver Sun

A "crazy idea" to remove an inner city freeway in Seoul, South Korea turned to reality. This piece tells the story about how this unlikely event came to be.

April 8, 2011 - Grist

The city of Venice, Italy, is a complex, historic, watery, tourist-filled place. This video explains how the city works.

April 8, 2011 - Open Culture

Jarrett Walker of Human Transit writes that car-pool rules need to be updated to effectively deal with congestion on the country's highways.

April 7, 2011 - Human Transit

Under House Resolution 995, six cities would be selected as test pilots for advanced ITS technology. Rep. Russ Carnahan, who introduced the bill, says the technologies exist today, they just need to be integrated and deployed.

April 6, 2011 - Wired

In an open letter to Canada's political parties competing in the current federal election, the Council for Canadian Urbanism calls on them to champion the Council's 10-point "call to action" on Canada's cities.

April 6, 2011 - Council for Canadian Urbanism

Rod Stevens, a business consultant specializing in urban ventures, compiled a list of the most common "silver bullet" solutions put in place by city leaders to address redevelopment over the past 60 years.

April 5, 2011 - Urbanophile

An article posted on DC Streets Blog claims to explain the relationship between ad dollars from the automotive industry and the media's "bike backlash."

April 4, 2011 - DC Streets Blog

As a part of its "Leading Thinkers" feature, the Globe and Mail has posted a series of videos on the theme of "Reimagining the City."

April 4, 2011 - Globe and Mail

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa believes that LA's 30/10 Plan could be incorporated nationwide to speed transit projects.

April 3, 2011 - Streets Blog

Architecture prof. Ron Rael redesigns the U.S./Mexico border to encourage interesting interactions rather than just exclusion.

March 31, 2011 - Fast Company

Scholars at the American Enterprise Institute think that the government should get out of housing finance because it has competing, irreconcilable goals when it comes to financing homes.

March 28, 2011 - The Atlantic

Egyptian architects and planners cite the number of large public spaces as a factor in the success of protests in that country leading to the ousting of Hosni Mubarak.

March 26, 2011 - Congress.org

Last week, a bill was submitted to Congress to create an entity to "facilitate efficient investments and financing of infrastructure projects." Robert Puentes of the Brookings Institution explains how he thinks a natl. infrastructure bank could work.

March 25, 2011 - Miller-McCune

State budget problems are trickling down to cities, which are being cut off from funding by their governors.

March 25, 2011 - The New York Times

The City of San Francisco is expanding its program of "parklets" -- small public patio-like spaces built on parking spots.

March 25, 2011 - The San Francisco Examiner