Government / Politics
Think You Can Balance California's Budget?
The Los Angeles Times has created an interactive game where you can make the hard choices in where to cut the State's expenditures.
Baghdad's Changing (U.S.) Demographics
The population is falling -- the population of U.S. troops stationed in Baghdad, that is.
New York's Legislative Lock Down Leaves Cities Hanging
As a power struggle between legislators in New York drags on, statutes in the state are expiring, leaving many cities with procedural headaches and tied hands.
Supreme Court Nominee's Eminent Domain Experience
Back in 2006, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor had a role in a controversial eminent domain ruling. Reason magazine takes a look at the decision and what it might mean for property rights if she's confirmed to the Court.
Can A County Become A City?
Fairfax County, Virginia is contemplating making the switch. Officials say the goal is to have control over local funding decisions, particularly in regards to road maintenance.
EPA OKs California's Plan to Regulate Emissions
The Environmental Protection Agency has reversed a decision by the Bush Administration that will allow California to create its own set of vehicle emissions standards.
Majority of Stimulus Spent on Roads
States are spending the vast majority of federal stimulus money on building or repairing roads and highways, according to a new study.
Climate Change's Barometer Has No Climate Change Plan
The Florida Keys are likely the most vulnerable places to sea-level rise in America. Despite this danger, officials there have set no plans for counteracting or dealing with climate change.
New Power Grid Would Slice Through Rural Areas
Expanding America's power grid to connect wind and solar power plants to the urban areas they fuel will require thousands of miles of transmission lines. Most of it will be built in rural areas where locals are not likely to be very welcoming.
Rainwater Collection Rules Evolving in the West
Two new laws in Colorado make legal the formerly prohibited act of collecting rainwater. Other states aren't so lenient.
Cash-Strapped Cities Ditch Fourth of July Fireworks
Tight budgets are causing cities across the country to skip fireworks displays for their Fourth of July celebrations.
Breaking Out of Silos and Across Borders
With interdepartmental cooperation blossoming within the Obama administration, Neal Peirce wonders how things will shake down when policies hit metropolitan regions -- and the municipal borders that can impede and confuse policy.
Ownership of Bus Arrival Data Disputed
The story of how an iPhone application charting public transit arrival times led to as-yet-unanswered questions about who owns this public data -- or whether it can be owned at all.
City People Do-It-Themselves
This post from The New York Times' blog examines how city government's are increasingly relying on automated services to keep order and boost revenue, and how citizens are reacting.
Squatters to Gain Legal Land Rights in the Amazon
The Brazilian government has just approved a measure that would grants legal land rights to squatters in the Amazon.
Getting Solar Power Rolling
This profile from Miller-McCune looks at a Berkeley, California official who made use of a 100-year old funding mechanism to take the city solar.
Megaregions and Megaproblems
As America's metropolitan areas meld into "megaregions", officials and policymakers will need to figure out how to deal with their shared and growing infrastructure problems. Consider the ball rolling.
Convention Centers Not Living Up to Expectations
In this article from Next American City, Josh Stephens looks at the role convention centers play in cities, the high hopes cities have for them, and the often poor returns they offer.
New Report: Use Cap & Trade Revenue To Invest In Smart Growth
Cap and trade is the topic du jour in climate change circles. A new report from CCAP makes the economic case for using those revenues to promote smart growth that reduces transportation emissions though VMT reductions.
Big Cities Call Stimulus Distribution Unfair
Mayors from big cities are feeling shortchanged by the federal government, which they say is disproportionately handing out stimulus money to small and rural areas.
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.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
