North America

Pricing road use by vehicle miles traveled (VMT) with higher fees for using congested roads could reduce travel time, claim researchers at Brookings.

May 4, 2009 - Brookings

Urban planning is falling into obsolescence, according to this piece, but employing old bottom-up techniques that value input from a variety of sources will make it relevant again.

April 30, 2009 - re:place Magazine

With high-profile private-sector clients scaling back prestige projects in the face of the economic downturn, architectural firms are looking instead to institutional clients and retrofitting existing buildings.

April 23, 2009 - The Globe and Mail

This piece from National Geographic looks at how green roofs are sweeping across the tops of buildings all over the world.

April 21, 2009 - National Geographic

Recent research from the Brookings Institution looks at 98 metropolitan areas and finds that fewer people are working close to downtowns, and there are fewer jobs located in those areas.

April 8, 2009 - The Brookings Institution

The American and Canadian governments are caught in a "policy paradox:" they want to promote green vehicles but they need to save their domestic auto industries. Both may not be possible, says Konrad Yakabuski.

April 7, 2009 - The Globe and Mail

We don't need to build new energy efficient homes as much as we need to refurbish the existing housing stock to make it more energy efficient, writes Richard Moe of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

April 7, 2009 - New York Times

A panel of experts weighs in on what cities should do with their dying shopping malls.

April 7, 2009 - The New York Times

College towns fare relatively well during a recession due to the stable, highly skilled work force colleges offer their communities.

March 25, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal

Between the spike in gas prices in 2008 and the current recession, the RV industry is in serious trouble as the market for enormous homes on wheels dries up.

March 20, 2009 - Salon.com

As money-poor mega-developments become less feasible to construct, builders may soon have to revert to developing at a smaller scale--a strategy that makes still more sense economically.

March 11, 2009 - Greater Greater Washington

The Seasteading Institute claims to be only a few years away from launching a prototype of a floating city.

March 11, 2009 - CNN

In his first foreign trip, President Obama will meet with Canadian PM Harper to discuss, amongst other topics, the environmental impact of mining Alberta's oil sands.

February 24, 2009 - The Washington Post

Housing on city fringes may be cheaper, but research has shown that after a certain threshold (about 15 miles), the high cost of commuting is no longer offset by it.

February 19, 2009 - Natural Resources Defense Council

Building bicycle infrastructure is expensive. Finding it is free. This piece from Citiwire implores cities to rethink quiet streets as "bicycle boulevards".

February 17, 2009 - Citiwire

February 9, 2009 - Tim Halbur

The Project for Public Spaces has released a summary of the top ten trends shaping the future of America's communities -- from public markets to community-based transportation planning.

January 31, 2009 - Project For Public Spaces

Architect Wes Jones argues that architecture is "an argument for a better world". But the general public doesn't understand how. Neither do most architects, writes Christopher Hume.

January 26, 2009 - The Toronto Star

The line between suburb and city blurs as suburbs struggle with the problems of the cities' past. But there's hope, say this article's authors, who make a case for regionalism and government's active role in reinventing such struggling places.

January 22, 2009 - Newsweek

January 22, 2009 - Nate Berg