Government / Politics
Chávez Denies Elimination Of Private Property In Venezuela
Amid concerns over his plans to create a modern socialist republic, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has denied that he has plans to phase out the concept of private property in the country.
Sometimes People Don't Mind Paying More
Sewer and water ratepayers in San Diego recognize that a rate hike is the only way to pay for replacing aging infrastructure.
Bond Money To Pour Into California Freeway Widening
The all-powerful California Transportation Commission is besieged by attacks from both Northern and Southern California leaders who argue for a greater share of the landmark $20 billion transportation bond fund approved by voters last November.
FEMA's Toxic Trailers?
The Nation magazine investigates whether 100,000 FEMA-purchased trailers are releasing toxic fumes from materials used in their construction, and made worse by low quality standards as the trailers were constructed at breakneck speeds.
Land Owners Worry About Redistribution In Bolivia
A report from NPR looks at a plan to redistribute land in Bolivia. Land owners are wary of of the plan, despite the government's promise that it would primarily redistribute its own land holdings, and then that of prospectors and investors.
Canadian Gov't Witholds $70 Million From Homeless
An internal government report questions why the Canadian federal government held back more than $70 million dollars from homelessness programs.
Critics Sound Off On 'Ineffective' So Cal Association Of Governments
As cities and counties contribute millions to its budget, the Southern California Association of Governments continues to take flak from planners and local officials who deplore its unrealistic planning efforts and inaccurate growth projections.
City Vote Urges Neighbor To Zone Urban Farm
A neighboring city has tendered its support of a plan to set aside 5 acres of a planned housing development in Mountain View, California, as an educational urban farm space. Some officials see the vote of support as outsider meddling.
Municipalities Organize To Comply With New Runoff Rules
As new storm water runoff regulations begin to apply to the smaller municipalities in Wisconsin, many communities are looking to join forces to create regional ordinances and tax schemes that will enable them to comply.
Eminent Domain's 'Devastating' Impact On African-Americans
Study concludes that eminent domain has evolved into a tool for the 'rich and the powerful" to take from the 'poor and politically weak'.
Where's The New Deal For Canada's Cities?
As Canada's political landscape has changed over the past few years, so too has the federal approach to Canada's cities.
Planning And The 'New People Power'
Local governments and citizens are finding that tackling community problems requires new forms of deliberative democracy.
Painting Bush Green
How the White House is portraying President Bush as a longtime supporter of the efforts to combat global warming.
New Orleans Unified Plan Leaves Neighborhoods Stranded
The Unified New Orleans Plan was supposed to unite seven separate, and often competing, official Hurricane Katrina rebuilding plans. But it has not been able to sidestep the controversial need to align the physical city to its shrunken population.
Tenant Holds Out Against Eminent Domain For Phoenix Light Rail
As plans push forward for the construction of a light rail system in Phoenix, Arizona, one man has refused to vacate the final property local governments need to acquire through eminent domain to complete the project.
Miami's McMansion Moratorium
A measure has been passed in South Miami that places a moratorium of construction of new two-story houses -- a measure aimed at preventing development of oversized homes, or McMansions.
Canada's Cities Facing Fiscal Crisis
A new report from the Conference Board of Canada says that Canada's cities are neglected and disempowered, and need more taxing power of their own and more direct investments from other levels of government.
Georgia Lawmakers Look To Block Rail Line
In an effort to stop the creation of a 26-mile commuter rail line connecting Atlanta to numerous suburbs, Georgia lawmakers are hoping to pass a bill requiring voters in each city and county along the proposed line to individually approve funding.
Shortage Of Planners In Iraq Reconstruction Efforts
The U.S. State Department is having trouble filling positions in reconstruction teams in Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says there is a shortage of city planners and engineers on the ground in Iraq, and getting more may be difficult.
Will Commuter Rail Happen In Southeast Michigan?
In order to alleviate congestion and auto-dependency, mass transportation proponents are working diligently to develop southeast Michigan's first commuter rail line.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
