Corruption

Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon was first elected to the city council in 1993. He’s expected to be indicted on public corruption charges next week after accepting more than $48,000 for “the use of his official position..."

March 27, 2014 - Charlotte Observer

Planners can learn a lot about the havoc money unleashes on otherwise benign development plans from the moral fortitude displayed by Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer.

February 3, 2014 - Ian Sacs

Marc Herman writes that cities in Spain used the housing bubble as a way to finance major infrastructure projects that now, after the real estate crash, they really can't afford.

November 23, 2011 - Miller-McCune

Bell is infamous for being sucked dry by a handful of corrupt politicians. Now that the officials have been removed, Bell is struggling to find its footing. Wealthy Beverly Hills and Santa Monica have stepped up to help.

September 13, 2011 - The Los Angeles Times

A bill to forcibly disband the tiny city of Vernon, California and incorporate it into Los Angeles County failed to pass earlier this week on concerns that it would economically weaken the county.

August 31, 2011 - The Los Angeles Times

The small southern California town of Bell became notorious for corruption when the exploits of its city manager were revealed in a newspaper investigation. The crime highlights the power of the city manager and how those powers can be misused.

July 19, 2011 - Zocalo Public Square

As Brazil prepares to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, officials are pushing a new law that would limit the powers of the international bodies behind the two major sporting events.

July 1, 2011 - The New York Times

Conor Friedersdorf writes that Los Angeles is made up by 88 different municipalities, 10 million residents and a lot of unincorporated territory, making it difficult to decide who controls what.

May 3, 2011 - The Atlantic

New York has a filthy history, says Robin Nagle, the New York City Department of Sanitation's anthropologist-in-residence. The muck of early Manhattan was much worse than you even suspected.

October 21, 2010 - OnEarth

Bell residents were outraged to discover that their poor community was going broke paying extravagant salaries to city leaders. Eight staffers have now been arrested for misappropriating funds.

September 23, 2010 - The Los Angeles Times

In Hartford, Connecticut, a former department store that locals call "butt-ugly" is being demolished. Delays in its destruction had come to symbolize all that is wrong with Hartford politics, says Josh Goodman of Governing.

September 16, 2010 - Governing Magazine

Rick Cole, City Manager of Ventura, California, says the recent scandal over inflated city staff salaries in Bell could have been easily avoided with a few simple precautions.

September 2, 2010 - Citiwire.net

Described as being the biggest corruption scandal in Israel's history, the Holyland Park scandal highlights the need for tighter regulation of land use planning in Israel. But with the Prime Minister's support for deregulation, reform looks unlikely.

April 26, 2010 - Treehugger

The recent corruption bust that resulted in the arrests of more than 40 people in New Jersey shows the interesting shape of the development process in the state.

August 11, 2009 - Associated Press

Jersey City senior planning aide Guy Catrillo has been charged with attempted extortion by the FBI as part of a broad corruption sting in the state.

July 24, 2009 - Jersey City Independent

As rescue work continues in the aftermath of the earthquake in China's Sichuan province, many -- including the state-run media -- are asking questions about why so many buildings collapsed, and blame corruption and shoddy construction methods.

May 16, 2008 - The Globe & Mail