Government / Politics
Tea Partiers Target Smart Growth "Conspiracy"
Mother Jones magazine reports on how tea party hostility towards "big government" is now being levelled at Agenda 21 and other smart growth initiatives, in the belief that they are part of an international conspiracy.
Top 10 Books - 2011
Planetizen is pleased to release its ninth annual list of the ten best books in urban planning, design and development published in 2010. This year's selection includes some big names, some big ideas -- and a book called "Toilet."
Mayor Seeks Funds for City From Unlikely Source
The mayor of Mt. Clemens, Michigan is turning to an unlikely source to help pay for stretched city services -- local non-profits. With 42% of city property tax exempt, Mayor Dempsey is asking non-profits to pay as if they were taxed.
NYC ARC Alternative Proposed: Extend The Subway!
Details are now just emerging about a proposal from NYC Mayor Bloomberg to further extend the IRT #7 line from the West Side station by a planned, massive new development, Hudson Yards. Cheaper than a commuter rail tunnel, it would serve NJ Transit.
Watershed States
This post from GOOD points to an old map of the Western U.S. in which state lines are redrawn based on the locations of watersheds.
High Speed Rail Versus Historic Tree
A historic tree near the campus of Stanford University is the centerpiece of a fight to redirect California's planned high speed rail project.
Transit Plans in Charlotte Face Budget Troubles
Expansion of transit has helped fuel a boost in ridership over the last decade in Charlotte. But with falling tax revenues, the city looks unlikely to be able to continue its planned transit growth.
Demolished For A Project That Would Never Be
The decision to cancel the planned tunnel beneath the Hudson River to connect New York and New Jersey was not without repercussions.
Improving Communications About Transit
This post from The City Fix looks at various efforts to increase communication between transit riders and transit providers in Chicago.
Rethinking Detroit
Detroit reporter John Gallagher's new book "Reimagining Detroit" considers what it will take to remake The Motor City into a model that will work for the future.
Livability Means Being Poor and Eating Only Iceberg Lettuce
Robert Steuteville comments on a recent article by Alan Pisarski that he says "regurgitates many of the heavy-handed arguments of the pro-sprawl, pro-highway crowd" in reaction to the Obama Administration's livability agenda.
Rough Tracks Ahead For High Speed Rail In Congress
Transportation consultant Ken Orski looks at post-election results in OH, WI, and FL as consistent with Newsweek's Robert J. Samuelson's pre-election column calling for an end to what he sees as wasteful and inappropriate high speed rail investment.
New L.A. Planning Codes Could Create 'Transit Sprawl'
A new group of activists in Los Angeles is warning that recently approved changes to the city's planning code could make it easier for transit-related projects to be approved even if they are not in alignment with neighborhood planning documents.
SF's Congestion Pricing Plan Advances
Three possibilities for tolling San Francisco's downtown have been advanced by the Board of Supervisors; two involve tolling the 'Southern Gateway', the only entrance to the peninsula city that is untolled. However, Prop 26 could doom the plan.
Transit Tax Referendum May Be Blocked in Indiana
Voters in Indiana were set to vote on a referendum to raise money for an ambitious $2.4 billion transit plan, but now the state's Republican leaders say they'll block the effort.
Austin BRT Revived
Two bus rapid transit projects in Austin that have been delayed for years due to lack of funding have been revived.
Vancouver's Transit Options, With Pricetag
Mayors in metropolitan Vancouver are facing two options for expanding transit service in the region -- and a hard decision about how to generate the funding to make it happen.
Transit Transformation in New Orleans
Jonna McKone asks, "How can transportation and urban development—from housing to public spaces to landscaping—repair a blighted American city?"
Environmentalists Torn Over Smart Growth
A Berkeley, CA growth initiative revealed the stresses that smart growth play on grassroots environmental organizations like the Sierra Club where members determine positions.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
