Government / Politics
The Greenest City Mayors
Grist lists the top 15 green-leaning mayors in America.
The Future of National Surface Transportation Policy
That was the title the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation chose for a hearing on April 28. Panelists: Ray LaHood, DOT Secretary; Steve Heminger, MTC; Jame Corless, T4America; Ann Canby, STPP, and Ned Holmes, TX Transp. Comm.
Should Fuel Taxes Pay For Alternative Transportation?
Planetizen has teamed up with National Journal, a weekly politics and policy magazine, to explore transportation issues. As part of National Journal's Transportation Experts blog, we've asked Planetizen Interchange bloggers and National Journal's Transportation Experts whether money from the Highway Trust Fund should be used for non-highway projects like bike lanes and pedestrian walkways.
Anchorage Needs to Heed New Bike Plan
Anchorage, Alaska recently completed a citywide bicycle master plan. Despite the costs of the projects in the plan, this oped argues it's exactly the blueprint the city needs to put into action.
California Cities to Sue Over High Speed Rail Route
A group of cities in the San Francisco Bay Area are going to file a lawsuit next month over the chosen route for California's planned high speed rail route between the Bay Area and Southern California.
DOT and HUD, Together Again
DOT and HUD announce a joint effort to merge land use and planning to improve livability. CNU's John Norquist comments on the merger.
Beijing's Olympic Pollution Efforts Fall Short
Despite efforts to clean up Beijing during last year's Olympic Games, pollutant reductions were very minor, according to a new report.
San Francisco's Bike Sharing Program Slow to Get Rolling
Environmental review processes and logistical issues are delaying the creation of a bike sharing program in San Francisco, announced in February by Mayor Gavin Newsom. Set to start with 50 bikes, some have criticized the program for aiming too low.
Google Takes Government Data Public
A new search tool from Google makes it easy to find public information, a move the company hopes will encourage governments to be more transparent with their data.
The Art of Balancing Retail
Diversity is important to neighborhood commercial areas, but getting the right balance of retail and restaurants without disincentivizing the former is not so simple.
Is Obama's Urban Policy Office DOA?
During the campaign, Obama promised U.S. mayors that he'd create an Office of Urban Policy. But indications so far are that the office is facing a significant downgrade, writes Dayo Olopade.
Opportunity Arises to Revise California's Prop 13
Proposition 13 has long been associated with California's budget woes and "fiscalization of land use" policies. Meant to apply primarily to residential property, commercial property owners have benefited more. 'Split role' could correct the problem.
Plea for Preservation
Detroit, now no stranger to demolitions, ought to rethink what it does with its abandoned, historic buildings--which have long been bulldozed without much of a second thought.
Contemplating a Neighborhood Design Standard
The effects of the U.S. Green Building Council's new LEED-ND certification for neighborhoods leaves plenty of questions to be answered regarding its effects (intended or not) on land use, sprawl, and property values.
From Grimy to Green
Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has unveiled plans to turn an industrial parcel of land near downtown into "the global capital of clean technology."
3 Out Of 10 'Best Cities in the World' Are Swiss
The 2009 Mercer Quality of Living Survey is dominated by Swiss, German and Austrian cities, while Vancouver hangs on to fourth place, the only city in the Americas to crack the top 10.
CA's Low Carbon Fuel Standard Regulation Is Approved
CA's Air Resources Board approved another 'first' - a low carbon fuel standard that will play a key role in meeting the state's aggressive climate action plan by reducing the carbon intensity of transportation fuels. Winners and losers are created.
Australian Province Considers Free Transit
The government of New South Wales is considering a plan to remove fares for public transit.
Creating a 'Smart' Grid Will Be a Challenge
Creating a "smart" grid to better handle the nation's electricity sounds like a great idea, but the job's going to be a tough -- and expensive.
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
