Government / Politics

January 13, 2011 - Tim Halbur

With a fleeing population, Youngstown, Ohio was ahead of the current trend on "shrinking cities." So what can planners learn from Youngstown's example?

January 13, 2011 - New Urban Network

RThe impact of cities is spreading beyond local and even national borders, argues Robert Neuwirth in this piece from What Matters.

January 13, 2011 - What Matters

One of columnist Steve Berg's New Year's resolutions is to explain to how supporting urbanist ideas like using cars less and retrofitting suburbs come from sound principles and aren't based in elitism.

January 12, 2011 - The Minneapolis Post

Parag Khanna suggests that cities are the building blocks of humanity, and will take increasing control over the future shape of the world in the coming decades.

January 11, 2011 - What Matters

In a review of the new bike sharing program in London, The Economist raises the question of whether the city wrongly predicted the existing demand for the service.

January 11, 2011 - The Economist

NIMBYism is obstructing the urban planning process, according to architect and New Urbanist Andres Duany. He suggests changing the public participation process to unclog the system.

January 11, 2011 - Architect

Toronto Star critic Christopher Hume predicts a lackluster 2011 for Toronto -- both in terms of architecture and urbanism.

January 11, 2011 - The Toronto Star

Wal-Mart has started a major public relations effort to try to get the public behind plans to open several of its big box retail stores in New York City.

January 11, 2011 - The New York Times

Representative Earl Blumenauer, well-known as a supporter of progressive transportation policies, says that the Republican majority in the House is up to "budget gimmickry that undermines our economy and the safety of our communities."

January 10, 2011 - The Infrastructurist

Sounding very much like the new OH and WI Republican governors, a key state Republican legislator wants to avoid the ongoing state subsidy for Iowa City to Chicago trains. At stake is $230 million in a Federal rail grant to build 110 mph trains.

January 10, 2011 - Des Moines Register

Contracts have been signed on a tunnel project to replace the earthquake-damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle. But opponents are still trying to stop the project.

January 9, 2011 - The Seattle Times

Officials in St. Louis are looking to update the county's zoning codes to allow denser housing, and a greater mix of land uses.

January 9, 2011 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Fast Company runs down a list of the "smartest" cities in the world. First place goes to Songdo City, in South Korea.

January 8, 2011 - Fast Company

By charging drivers for each mile they travel, rather than a fixed amount, pay-as-you-drive insurance could cut driving by eight percent nationally, or more than eleven percent in New York State, says a Brookings Institution report.

January 7, 2011 - Streetsblog

Reporter Jarrett Murphy gets behind the curtain to reveal that the Obama administration is actually doing quite a lot for cities - just very, very quietly.

January 6, 2011 - City Limits

California Governor Jerry Brown is settling into his new office by taking on one of the state's most controversial laws: the property tax increase limits enforced by Proposition 13.

January 6, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

Alternet runs down a list of the five best policies enacted by cities in 2010.

January 6, 2011 - AlterNet

In his annual state-of-the-city speech, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker highlighted what he sees as his most important accomplishment: a streetcar.

January 6, 2011 - Deseret News

The U.S. Census Bureau has released a new set of formulae that dramatically change the way poverty is determined in the U.S., leaving behind the one-size-fits-all approach in use since the 1960s.

January 6, 2011 - The Washington Post