United States
Advice for Newly Elected Officials About Vacant and Abandoned Properties
A few words to live by for elected officials in communities working to transform vacant and abandoned properties into valued, productive uses.
House Rejects Amendment Allowing Heavier Trucks
One of the nearly 270 amendments the House is considering in the $325 billion transportation reauthorization bill would allow individual states to allow heavier trucks to use highways. It was decisively defeated in a floor vote on Tuesday.
Election Roundup: Results for Planning, Land Use, Transportation Measures
Early results on yesterday's election are in from around the country, where cities as diverse as Houston and San Francisco and states as varied as Ohio and Maine decided on issues related to planning, land use, and transportation.
TransCanada Hits the 'Pause Button' on Keystone XL Application
TransCanada, developer of the controversial 1,179-mile pipeline that would transport crude derived from oils sands in Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska, asked the State Department to hold-off processing its application for the seven-year-old project.
The New Speaker's First Test: The Transportation Reauthorization Bill
Congress began work this week on a 6-year transportation bill, the first since SAFETEA-LU expired in 2009. Overseeing the process of adding amendments to the bill will be new House Speaker Paul D. Ryan in his first significant test of leadership.
Not-So-Secret Climate Change Conspirators: T.V. Weather Reporters
TV weather reporters should be educators of the public about climate change. Yet they range from being outright deniers to keeping silent about this cataclysmic threat to life on Earth. An examination of why and what can be done about it.
Guess Where Americans Are Plowing Their Gas Savings
Gas prices are 80 cents a gallon less than a year ago and $1.50 less than April 2014. With this amount of savings, the economy should be improving from all the extra cash in consumers' hands. You'll be surprised where much of the savings is going.
The New Landscape of the Housing Crisis
The housing crisis that made headlines during the Great Recession is proving far more persistent than the common narrative about over-priced coastal market allows. A new report by the Center for American Progress uncovers the facts on the ground.
How Parking Management Can Help Cities Grow Smarter
An excerpt from the introduction to "Parking Management for Smart Growth," by Richard W. Willson, Ph.D., FAICP. Here Willson argues for parking management strategies as a critical tool for communities to get more out of the space devoted to cars.
$500 Million in TIGER Grants Awarded to 39 Projects
The seventh round of TIGER funding was announced last week. Louisville provides a case study of how cities engage with the competitive grant process.
Why Biking and Walking Can't Be Lumped Together
Biking and walking are often assumed as two peas in a pod, when in fact it might be more helpful to think of them as apples and oranges.
How to Pick the Perfect Urbanist Halloween Costume
The editors at CityLab got creative in conjuring up some urbanism-themed costume ideas. They'll even help you decide which works for you.
President Obama Signs 3-Week Highway Bill and Railroad Safety Extension
A three-week extension of federal transportation spending and three-year extension for railroads to install positive train control was signed on Oct. 29, the date the current highway extension expired.
Parking Requirements at TOD Projects Remain Stubbornly Out of Sync
Transit Oriented Development projects around the country are still facing suburban-style parking requirements.
12 Maps to Explain the Midwest
Aaron Renn scours the Internet to find 12 maps that attempt to do the impossible: define the geographic and cultural expanse known as the American Midwest.
Report: The Price of Driving Doesn't Match the Cost of Driving
The true cost of vehicle and road use is not reflected in the price drivers pay.
House Transportation Bill Misses Mark on Transit
Transit advocates have little good to say about the recently-passed Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act. While it doesn't cut transit funding, it does nothing to expedite transit-based solutions.
Op-Ed: Why Cities Need the 'Poor Door'
Drawing on a distinction between equality and equity, Rick Jacobus argues that so-called 'poor doors' are a necessary compromise to promote affordable housing and neighborhood integration.
What Does the Connected Home Mean for Energy Policy?
As cities look to the Internet of Things to reimagine urban infrastructure, one hope is that real-time data collection will help increase energy efficiency at the regional level. Where do homes outfitted with a network of smart devices fit in?
Planning Roundtable: What Makes a Good Urban Park?
Are there too many urban parks and plazas? If not, why do some fail? In this collaborative article, several urban planning gurus from different cities respond to these questions. They provide both shared and unique perspectives.
Pagination
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.
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority