Government / Politics

Beverly Hills Committing $350k to Keeping Subway Out

The City Council of Beverly Hills has been outspoken against the MTA's plans to run a subway under the city. This Thursday, they're considering pulling together $350 thousand to fund their opposition.

July 5, 2011 - Canyon News

Answer for California's Problems: Divide and Conquer?

County of Riverside Supervisor Jeff Stone proposes breaking up California in order to form a new "State of South California."

July 5, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

Tent City of Protest

The center of protest in Yemen's capital city of Sana'a has turned into a massive tent city, with more than 4,000 tents and a variety of services, public spaces and pop-up industries.

July 4, 2011 - Der Spiegel

More U.S. Cities Launching Bike Sharing Programs

More American cities are following successful European cities' leads and launching their own bike sharing systems.

July 3, 2011 - McClatchy

The Private Sector Approach to the Public Sector

This short series from Next American City looks at the emerging trend of entrepreneurs applying their own private-sector business savvy to the world of local government.

July 3, 2011 - Next American City

Redevelopment Plans Shaken Up as California Cuts Budget

Urban redevelopment plans to slow or stall in California, as Governor Jerry Brown slashes the budgets of redevelopment agencies in the state.

July 3, 2011 - The Sacramento Bee

Comparing the Greening of Cities

A new tool comparing cities in the U.S. and Canada tracks improvements in the way cities are greening, and also highlights areas where improvement is needed.

July 2, 2011 - The Atlantic

Injured Cyclists Team Up to Fund Fix for Heavy Accident Area

An accident-prone section of bike path in Seattle has prompted dozens of lawsuits and resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to injured cyclists. Now the cyclists themselves are trying to fix the infrastructural problem.

July 2, 2011 - The Seattle Times

Detroit Finalizes Light Rail Route

The City of Detroit has finalized the route of a planned light rail line traveling down one the of the city's main corridors and linking to downtown.

July 1, 2011 - The Detroit News

Abu Dhabi Looks Ahead to 2030

Abu Dhabi has released a new 20-year plan. It planners argue that it will be flexible enough to withstand changes in the global economy, should they come.

July 1, 2011 - Times of Oman

Brazil Hopes to Limit Sports Bodies' Powers Ahead of Mega Events

As Brazil prepares to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, officials are pushing a new law that would limit the powers of the international bodies behind the two major sporting events.

July 1, 2011 - The New York Times

Federal Funds on the Line as Cities Challenge Census Results

The U.S. Conference of Mayors expect the number of challenges to be higher than the 1,200 challenges filed for the 2000 Census because regions claimed to have received low population counts.

June 30, 2011 - Associated Press

The Technology for a Dialogue Between Citizens and Cities

Technology must be harnessed in cities to allow citizens to "talk back" to cities and enable more user-driven change, according to this op-ed from economist Saskia Sassen.

June 30, 2011 - domus

Graying of the Suburban Image

The 2010 Census showed that the baby-boom generation led to the growth of older populations settling in suburbs, which is causing local governments to rethink whom their services should cater to.

June 30, 2011 - The Washington Post

New York City Planning Director Leads the City's Renaissance

The Wall Street Journal profiles New York City Planning Director Amanda Burden, focusing on the populist projects her department has been successful in building in recent years.

June 29, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

How ARRA Affects the Homeless

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) claims that Obama's economic stimulus bill helped contain the number of homeless people in 2009 and 2010.

June 29, 2011 - CQ Roll Call

Controversial Commuter Rail's Surprising Backer

He's the most powerful congressman on transportation issues: none other than Florida's John Mica, chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Mica is backing the 61-mile, $1.2 billion Orlando Sunrail Line.

June 29, 2011 - The New York Times - Politics

A 'Drought-Proof' City

By focusing on reducing water use to levels that could be served by its two water sources, the city of El Paso, Texas, has been able to quench its thirst without running dry.

June 28, 2011 - Guardian

Stockholm's Transportation Remodel

In Stockholm, Sweden, planners are moving ahead with a broad central city redevelopment plan that seeks to continue the city's trend of reducing car traffic and congestion, and making it easier for bikers, walkers and transit takers to get around.

June 28, 2011 - Citiwire

Detroit RoboCop Statue Brings New Form of Public Participation

Crowd-funded plans to build a statue of the movie character RoboCop are moving ahead in Detroit, and the project is redefining public participation in civic ventures.

June 28, 2011 - domus

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.

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