United States
The New Retirement Community Paradigm
After postponing home purchases during the recession, people over the age of 55 have been the first group to return to the home buying market.
Minneapolis and New York City Top 2014 ParkScore Ratings
The third annual rating of cities ranks the access, size, and spending of parks in the 60 largest cities in the country.
Cities and Corporations Learn to Cooperate
Large companies are choosing cities rather than suburban office parks to locate. A recent article details how corporations can make the most of their urban environment.
Is Big City Growth Here to Stay?
In this opinion piece, Brookings demographer William H. Frey looks at three years of census data and discusses whether urban growth will stay through the decade or whether the U.S. will return to its traditional, post-War suburban growth patterns.
Buy a Stamp—Patch a Highway?
This could have been our Friday Funny—but it's for real. House Republicans have suggested that reforming the United States Postal Service, such as ending Saturday delivery and other cost cutting could be used to shore-up the Highway Trust Fund
On the Unintended Consequences of Inclusionary Zoning
"Affordable housing policies have a long history of hurting the very people they are said to help," says Emily Washington, citing public housing and rent control as evidence. She would also add inclusionary zoning to the list of failed policies.
How Street Performances Transform Public Spaces
A busking advocate blogs about the benefits of street performances in public spaces and the need to revisit street performance licenses and requirements.
Debate Intensifies Before EPA Releases New Rules for Power Plants
Both sides are coming out swinging, days before President Obama and EPA Administrator McCarthy release a long-awaited power plant rule on Monday. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a new report concluding the rule would cost $50 billion annually.
California Updates Main Street Planning Guide
A newly revised guidebook by the California Department of Transportation describes how to plan and design highways and arterials that also serve as community commercial centers.
Recent Data Show Americans Continuing to Kick the Driving Habit
Fresh data from the Federal Highway Commission details the amount of travel by American's on roads and highways through March 2013. When adjusted for population growth, a conclusion for a new age emerges: the driving boom is over.
Community Gardens as Harbingers of Gentrification
Lauren Markham examines the value of community gardens to the bottom lines of developers—because one person's blighted back yard can easily become another person's veggie garden marketing pitch.
Mapping America's Homeless Populations
The Committee to End Homelessness in King County produced a helpful visualization tool that compares the size of homeless populations around the country as well as the type of housing support they receive.
How Green is My Neighborhood? Let Me Count the Ways
Neighborhood-scale sustainable development is flourishing, as are tools for assessing and certifying the triple bottom line of projects. Ten neighborhood rating tools are reviewed for their best fit for planners, developers, and communities.
Offsetting: A Third Strategy to Fund Federal Transportation Spending
"What program would you cut to continue the same level of transportation spending without raising the gas tax, e.g. cancer treatment programs, Head Start?," asks Streetsblog USA's Tanya Snyder after reading Sen. Bob Corker's (R-Tenn.) recommendation.
Are Helicopter Parents Destroying Mobility for Young Americans?
A recent post by Paul Mackie takes inspiration from a new book called "It's Complicated" to explore how parents might be driving teens further into technology-enabled isolation and torpidity.
What is the New American Dream?
The new American Dream is about place, and that brings people and communities together. The 20th Century American Dream tended to pull cities and towns apart.
EPA to Release 'Cornerstone' of President's Climate Initiative
On June 2, one of the most important and far-reaching programs to reduce carbon emissions will be unveiled by the EPA: a rule to require reduction of carbon emissions from existing power plants using a number of options, including cap and trade.
Supply and Demand: Debating the Blame for Gentrification
Jim Russell and Daniel Kay Hertz are engaged in an ongoing debate about how supply and demand in markets of so-called "superstar metros" influences processes of gentrification.
Report Details the Role of Infrastructure Jobs in the U.S. Economy
A new report from the Brookings Institute examines the details employment in infrastructure jobs in the United States—as well as making a case that infrastructure jobs can address ongoing concerns in the economy.
Critical Water Bill Passes Senate, Awaits President's Signature
After passing the House earlier on a 412-4 vote, the Senate voted 91-7 on May 22 to pass a $12.3 billion water infrastructure bill known as Water Resources Reform and Development Act. It had been seven years since the act was last reauthorized.
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie
