United States

Are Millennials Hiding in their Parents' Basements?
Recent studies have found that trends born of the Great Recession have left Millennials stuck in place. A recent article places the current milieu in context by comparing historic rates of mobility.
7 Reasons Community Development Financial Institutions Lack Investors
Community development financial institutions are great places for impact investors to put their dollars, but the money isn't flowing. Rosalie Sheehy Cates discusses the barriers in connecting CDFIs and impact investors, and a way forward for both.
Why School Integration Requires Neighborhood Integration
Emily Badger examines the role of housing segregation in obstructing the promise of Brown v. Board of Education.
Transportation Reauthorization Bill Breezes Past First Committee
Receiving a resounding vote of confidence from the Environment and Public Works Committee, the $265 billion, six-year MAP-21 reauthorization bill advanced on its path to keep federal transportation payments going to states through the summer.

The Case Against Bike Helmets
Should helmets be an optional accessory, rather than an absolute requirement? Or are helmets a sign of a culture not yet ready to embrace biking as a normal, safe activity?

New Urbanism's Impact on Mid-Sized and Smaller Cities
Birmingham, Michigan; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Providence, Rhode Island; and others that adopted a new urban approach 15 or 20 years ago have transformed themselves.

Questioning the Privileges of Tactical Urbanism
Does tactical urbanism too-often benefit the point of view of a privileged population, leaving behind more pressing needs?
Calling for National Investments in Transportation Infrastructure
President Obama visited the Tappan Zee Bridge earlier this week to argue for a renewed commitment to transportation infrastructure.
A Tale of Two Markets
Re-examining recent thinking on student debt as major contributor to the lousy housing market.

Do Old Buildings Contribute to Economic Vitality?
Emily Badger crunches the data on the argument by Jane Jacobs regarding the importance of old buildings to the economic health and quality of life of cities—an opinion described by Badger as "received wisdom among planners and urban theorists."
Public Comment Sought for U.S. EPA's 'RE-Powering America's Land' Action Plan
The U.S. EPA is in the process of updating its 2008 plan to promote renewable energy on formerly contaminated land, mines, or landfill sites.
Study Examines Middle Class Home Affordability
Jed Kolko presents the findings of a study that examines the available stock of housing available to those earning the median income around the country in different cities around the country.
What's Wrong with the Senate's MAP-21 Reauthorization Bill?
Plenty, according to Tanya Snyder, Streetsblog USA editor, who finds Obama's Grow America plan far superior. Outside of not including a gas tax to fill the Trust Fund gap, she finds the proposal "underfunded and highway centric." She is not alone.
You Can't Just Throw Money at Community Development
Living Cities set out to lend money to community development financial institutions in five distressed cities but were met with a mountain of challenges. Here are the lessons learned from addressing the lack of "capital absorption capacity."

U.S. Census: Bikes Most Increased Commute Mode Since 2000
Many U.S. cities are seeing an increase in bicycle commuters, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released last week. Of all commute modes, biking increased the most from 2000 to 2012. Walking, however, held steady.

Senate Committee Releases Six-Year Transportation Reauthorization Bill
The bill to reauthorize the current surface transportation law, "Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century", a.k.a. MAP-21, was released on Monday and will be "marked up" on Thursday. Spending is kept at current levels of $50 billion a year.
Waterways Infrastructure Bill: Prelude to Highway Bill Agreement?
Last Thursday, House and Senate leaders announced agreement on an $8.2 billion waterways infrastructure bill, and if they have their way, it won't be their last major agreement. On Monday, a successor highway bill (to MAP-21) will be released.
Bi-Partisan Energy Efficiency Bill Stalls while Obama Pushes Initiative
A bi-partisan Senate bill to dramatically reduce carbon emissions by increasing energy efficiency got caught-up in Keystone XL pipeline politics, while President Barak Obama pursued his own energy efficiency agenda at a Walmart in Mtn. View, Calif.

China Considering High Speed Rail Project—to the United States
Reports from Beijing are that Chinese officials are considering a high speed rail project that would connect China to North America. The project sounds like science fiction—but the question remains whether China would or could pull off the project.
A Transportation Redline that Obama is Required to Keep
If Congress can't agree how to fund the Highway Trust Fund shortfall, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx warned state DOTs that he will be unable to reimburse them for funds already spent. The redline is the $4 billion mark projected to come July.
Pagination
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