Government / Politics
Wind Turbine Bridge Stirs Imaginations
A proposed bridge going over the Columbia River in the Portland-Vancouver area may be able to power itself with wind turbines integrated right onto the design.
Seeking Sponsors As Infrastructure Dies
This piece from New Geography looks disparagingly at an idea in San Francisco to allow corporate sponsorship of the Golden Gate Bridge in order to raise money for infrastructure projects.
Can Brutalism Clash with Religious Exercise?
A Washington, D.C. church contends that its current facility, a historic Brutalist buildling, interferes with its theology and should be able to replace it with something more "welcoming" and fitting with "the scale of the community."
Blumenauer Sees Brighter Future As Bike Momentum Builds
"All of a sudden it's hot", says long-time bike advocate and U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer, who's hoping the country will ride this momentum towards a more sustainable pattern of development.
No Superfund Status for Rocketdyne Site
California has rejected a proposal to list a polluted nuclear testing facility as a federal Superfund site. State officials believe they can clean it up more quickly and thoroughly.
A Plea For a Pub in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker is talking about reforming the city's longstanding restrictions on alcohol. Writer Luke Garrett puts in his pitch for relaxed zoning to allow an old-fashioned pub in his neighborhood.
Entering the 'Maze of Zoning'
In Virginia Beach, VA, homeowner Herbert Harris was told that the wheelchair ramp and extra bedroom he was building for his wife and ill daughter needed building permits. Thus began a trip down the rabbit hole of the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Hunting in the 'Burbs
It's open season in Montgomery County, Maryland, where hunters are being allowed -- and in some cases encouraged -- to hunt deer in populated suburban areas.
City Mandates Pet Tracking
San Marcos, Texas, joins a handful of other cities around the country in requiring pet owners to monitor their pets electronically.
Exxon to Congress: Give Us A Carbon Tax, Please!
Exxon's CEO has joined Al Gore, Dr. James Hansen, and others on the forefront fighting climate change in requesting a carbon tax, though they make in clear it should be in lieu of cap & trade, the method favored by the Democrats.
A New Plan For Congestion Pricing in New York
Charles Komanoff reveals a revised new plan that aims to bring congestion pricing to New York City and use its revenue to reduce the price of transit.
Chicago Misses Deadline for $153 Million Transit Grant
The city of Chicago has missed a deadline to approve a pending parking fee ordinance that would have helped the city qualify for $153 million in federal grant money.
Washington D.C.'s 'Inaugural Refugees'
The District of Columbia may be expecting the largest gathering of people in America's history for President Obama's inauguration, but many residents will also be leaving town.
Critics May Miss The Green Point of the SmartCode
Communities aren't going to get a green code implemented, or any code, without that code appealing to developers, says Sandy Sorlien. They're building our new sustainable places and infilling our old ones.
Stimulus Should Fund New, 'Transformative' Ideas
In this column, former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer calls on the Obama Administration to direct its stimulus package towards innovative technologies and "transformative" projects, not just the status quo roads and bridges of the past.
Location, Location, Location: Brought To You By GIS
A new GIS-based service promises to improve on real estate agents by using GIS data to locate promising sites to locate for business.
L.A. Subway Construction Timeline is "Unacceptable"
It will take more than two decades to expand Los Angeles' Subway to the Sea by 10 miles, according to an MTA timeline. The mayor's office and transit activists are pushing for it to get done more quickly.
Sanjay Gupta Discusses Livable Cities
Correspondent/neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta, who has been tapped to fill the Surgeon General position by President-elect Obama, talks about 'livable cities' as they relate to climate change and public health.
One Victory for the City in Billboard Battle
A federal court has knocked down a previous ruling that Los Angeles' billboard ban is unconstitutional.
Oregon UGB Expanded
Bend, Oregon councilmembers took no more than five minutes to vote to expand the city's urban growth boundaries, adding nearly 9,000 acres of developable land to the city's map.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
