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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Planners are split on eminent domain—one group believes it’s a critical component of planning since it allows them to implement plans more quickly. Others believe eminent domain does more to destroy urbanism than build it up. I’ve weighed in on it numerous times, including </font><a href="/node/150"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3" color="#800080">this commentary published by Planetizen</font></a><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">. </font></p>

January 9 - Samuel Staley

<p>Hans Monderman, the Dutch traffic engineer renowned for his innovative "shared space" plans emphasizing human interaction over mechanical traffic control devices, died this week.</p>

January 9 - Streetsblog

<p>Echoing the peasant revolutions that led to the creation of modern China, farmers are rising up against the factories they accuse of contaminating rivers and destroying their livelihoods.</p>

January 9 - AlterNet

<p>This report from <em>The Brookings Institution</em> examined census data for the largest 150 municipalities in the U.S. to determine if and how jobs follow rising populations of workers, and what cities can do to increase access to jobs and workers.</p>

January 9 - The Brookings Institution

<p>Plans are moving forward for Atlanta's broad Beltline project, including parkspace, mixed use development and transit. But this piece from the <em>Atlanta Journal-Constitution</em> argues that a grand vision is needed to harness the momentum.</p>

January 9 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

<p>For the third time, the city of Baltimore is considering a zone change that would allow live-in drug centers to be located in residential areas. Residents are opposed, but the Department of Justice has threatened to sue unless changes are made.</p>

January 9 - The Baltimore Sun

<p>The demolition of two historic buildings in Vancouver has many worried that the provincial preservation laws aren't doing enough to protect the city's historic stock.</p>

January 9 - The Globe and Mail

<p>High-profile urban parks in Denver and Irvine, California, hint at a resurgence in the creation of outdoor spaces in America's urban areas.</p>

January 9 - The Economist

<p>Paris plans to unveil an electric car-sharing service throughout the city to complement its successful bike rental system.</p>

January 9 - The Times

<p>New Yorkers are hoping that a recent temporary public market will eventually become permanent, providing a centralized place where residents can shop for local foods.</p>

January 8 - The New York Times

<p>Owing to political fragmentation and 20 different mayors, the Canadian city of Montreal is becoming increasingly dysfunctional and must be simplified, writes Lysiane Gagnon.</p>

January 8 - The Globe & Mail

<p>More and more commuters on the East coast are leaving their cars at home and riding the bus to work. The transit agencies in the region are hoping to continue this trend by appealing to those riders who don't rely on the bus as their primary transit.</p>

January 8 - The New York Times

<p>This piece from the <em>Los Angeles Times Magazine</em> looks at the recent trend of including public squares in high-profile L.A. projects, and examines why they don't really work in the traditional sense.</p>

January 8 - Los Angeles Times Magazine

<p>James Howard Kunstler reflects on how the housing crisis fallout will affect American society in an election year.</p>

January 8 - Jim Kunstler's Blog

<p>According to columnist Ken Miller, government agencies can learn a lot from the television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition".</p>

January 8 - Governing

<p>Blue boxes painted on the street at key Portland intersections are part of an effort to reduce the amount of bikers hit by cars turning right.</p>

January 8 - The Oregonian

<p><em>City Limits Weekly</em> presents a rundown of some of the biggest housing-related issues facing presidential candidates this year and looks at the policies and records of those vying to take over the country's top post.</p>

January 8 - City Limits Weekly

<p>Following PG&amp;E's bankruptcy, the private nonprofit Stewardship Council was assigned the task of conserving and reorganizing PG&amp;E's 140,000 acres located in the Sierra Nevada and Upper Cascade Mountains.</p>

January 8 - The Los Angeles Times

<p>A land subdivision in Oregon approved under the state's Measure 37 is going forward, despite the fact that it should have been significantly scaled back after the passage of Measure 49 in November. Many view this case as a test of what 49 will allow.</p>

January 8 - The Oregonian

<p><em>The Guardian</em> has released a list of the "50 people who could save the planet," including some urban innovators who are changing the way the world thinks about cities.</p>

January 7 - The Guardian