Government / Politics

Basra and Mosul are Iraq's second- and third-largest cities. In this post, Iraqi journalists talk about the two cities, their evolving public realms and the security issues they face.

January 16, 2010 - The New York Times

Petaluma, California, made headlines last year when it got rid of its planning department. The Architect's Newspaper takes a look at how the city is adapting to contract-based planning through hired consultants.

January 15, 2010 - The Architect's Newspaper

First proposed in 1993, a higher peak toll may finally be applied to the Bay Bridge: $6 would be charged 5-10am and 3-7pm, while $4 charged off-peak. Weekends will see a $5 toll, the same as the other state-owned regional bridges if approved 1/27.

January 15, 2010 - San Francisco Chronicle

Officials in Hawaii have unveiled a strategic plan for removing garbage and debris from the ocean near the Hawaiian Archipelago.

January 15, 2010 - The Honolulu Advertiser

This article from Government Technology looks at the idea of municipal Wi-Fi Internet access and why it has struggled to take off.

January 14, 2010 - Government Technology

The state of California has adopted the nation's first green building codes, including a provision that allows local jurisdictions to keep or approve even stricter environmental building rules.

January 13, 2010 - San Francisco Chronicle

As incredible as it sounds, it's true. CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's scheme is to convert the sales tax on gas to an excise tax partly to circumvent a June court ruling that he had illegally diverted public transit funds to balance the state budget

January 13, 2010 - The Sacramento Bee

A $5.35 billion plan to build a light rail system in Honolulu, Hawaii, is on rocky ground as the state's governor has joined the opposition movement.

January 13, 2010 - the transport politic

NPR interviews the AP reporter who conducted an analysis of stimulus spending in one particular area - road construction. His finding was that in addition to having no effect on total unemployment, it didn't improve construction employment either.

January 12, 2010 - NPR: All Things Considered

Dongtan Eco City was planned for completion for the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. By that time, 5,000 people should be living there. However, the planned housing, water taxis, sewage‐recycling plant and energy park all failed to materialize.

January 12, 2010 - The Urban Reinventors Online Urban Journal

New video game-like programs are enabling the U.S. military to train for deployment in the middle east. One program is modeled off the urban planning computer game SimCity.

January 12, 2010 - The Atlantic

Negotiations between the states of Georgia, Alabama and Florida can remain secret, according to a recent federal ruling.

January 12, 2010 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A passenger train line across the Balkans had been closed for 18 years. As it reopens and reconnects the region to the rest of Europe, there are signs of improved relations in the war-torn region.

January 12, 2010 - The New York Times

A neighborhood development group in Seattle is working with convenience store owners to add healthier food choices to their inventories.

January 12, 2010 - KUOW

The editors' choice of the most significant stories in the realm of urban planning, design and development of the "aughts" (2000-2009). The decade began with one crash and ended with another, but in between we've learned a lot about making cities.

January 11, 2010 - Nate Berg

In this editorial, the Times strongly supports the new, more stringent ozone standard proposed by the EPA. It views the new proposal as a sign that the Obama administration looks toward science, not industry, to set environmental and health standards

January 10, 2010 - The New York Times - Opinion

Private investors are claiming that they can build a $3 billion, 220-mile high speed rail system in Indonesia by the end of 2011. But the plan may be too ambitious to pull off -- or just not a good idea in the first place.

January 10, 2010 - The Infrastructurist

Long-held plans to build a bus rapid transit system connecting Oakland with nearby cities may also result in the creation of what some are calling the longest "complete street" in the state.

January 9, 2010 - San Francisco Chronicle

As China's cities grow, the economic policy that determines who is a rural resident and who is an urban resident are in need of some changes, according to this article.

January 9, 2010 - Guardian

New parking lots and obstructed views of historic buildings would be forbidden under a new set of zoning rules being discussed for downtown Baltimore.

January 9, 2010 - The Baltimore Sun