United States

In a 1957 book, author Selden Rodman collected conversations with 35 of America's preeminent artists and architects. The interviews with Frank Lloyd Wright are a font of choice quotes on topics from Le Corbusier to NYC's density.

August 22, 2013 - Brain Pickings

America's oil and gas boom has energy companies ramping up their ability to export natural gas, and the feds eager to approve export terminal projects. But Dow Chemical’s chief executive warns that exports threaten the U.S. manufacturing renaissance.

August 22, 2013 - The New York Times

Though the Obama administration poured billions of dollars into expanding broadband access across America (98 percent of homes now have access), reducing digital inequality has been a far greater challenge.

August 22, 2013 - The New York Times

Two new reports published by the Department of Energy detail the remarkable rise in wind power in the United States. Energy derived from the wind can now power more than 15 millions homes.

August 22, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Noah Nelson explores the generational shift in the idea of ownership as Millennials ditch the traditional big ticket and consumer items - seemingly anything but a smartphone and food - for shared experiences.

August 21, 2013 - NPR

A patchwork of isolated water crises in communities throughout the western United States adds up to one intricately woven story: 'we’ve reached peak water in the American west.'

August 21, 2013 - ScienceBlogs

In an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal, James Piereson and Naomi Schaefer Riley argue that its time for educational institutions to pay their fare share of taxes to support the communities in which they reside.

August 21, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Urban Planning is rarely seen as a remedy for the state of the education system. However, thoughtful community design that integrates schools in new ways can lead to successful learning environments and vibrant communities.

August 20, 2013 - Tinka Rogic

Mexico, the world's 9th largest oil producer and first to nationalize its oil production, has seen steep production declines as the state-owned oil company lacks capital resources and expertise. Constitutional reforms would entice private investment.

August 20, 2013 - The New York Times - Global Business

A task force created by the White House in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy has published its 69-point strategy for communities to better withstand and recover from extreme weather events.

August 19, 2013 - Next City

Anyone living in New York, or paying attention to baseball, knows how one failed splashy signing can sink a team's competitiveness. Rather than trying to win with home runs, local governments should be playing small ball, argues Charles Marohn.

August 19, 2013 - Strong Towns

This interactive feature from the New York Times employs animation and photographs of the city over time to explore the places where the outgoing Mayor has left the biggest impression.

August 19, 2013 - The New York Times

In this opinion piece on how to pay for roads, Noel Popwell gives 5 reasons for switching from gas tax to vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) fee revenue collection - even if the Highway Trust Fund wasn't facing insolvency next year. Obama is opposed to it.

August 18, 2013 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

A scholar and former New York City planner has an interesting idea for improving the financial state of America's often beleaguered public transit systems: let non-profits run them instead of public agencies. Eric Jaffe explains his reasoning.

August 18, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Famed Danish architect Jan Gehl shared his thoughts this week about people-friendly cities, and why we have no option but to build them.

August 18, 2013 - Future Cities

A new study published this week in the American Journal of Public Health links 18.2 percent of premature deaths in the United States between 1986 and 2006 to obesity, a nearly fourfold increase over what had widely been cited.

August 17, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

In what may be the most informative piece of pointillist 'painting' ever made, a demographic researcher has created a zoomable racial map of America made up of 308,745,538 dots. The result is 'strangely beautiful'.

August 17, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

What if the people who keep a city running -- including urban planners -- can't afford to live there? An updated database highlights the gap between incomes and housing costs in hundreds of U.S. cities.

August 16, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

They sound too good to be true: houses that remain a comfortable temperature throughout the year without traditional climate control systems. Yet 30,000 such homes have been built in Europe. Why haven't passive houses caught on in the U.S.?

August 16, 2013 - The New York Times

Urbanists must adopt less bureaucratic approaches so that the next generation can build and grow the economy, Andres Duany says. Hence the proliferation of “lean” codes that emphasize only the essentials of shaping community.

August 16, 2013 - Better! Cities & Towns