United States

A new article by city historian Graeme Davison traces the rise and fall of the suburban paradigm from its ideological roots in Victorian England to its current backlash.

March 15, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Bike-share is continuing its march towards world domination, with seemingly every large Midwestern American city now jumping on the bike lending bandwagon, reports Angie Schmitt.

March 15, 2013 - DC.Streetsblog

New Census data shows that after a recession induced respite, "Americans have resumed moving from the Northeast and Midwest to the West and South," reports Neil Shah. Four of the nation's fastest growing large metro areas are located in Texas.

March 14, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

The USDA's new Food Access Research Atlas provides a handy guide for assisting policymakers and planners in finding the urban and rural areas with the most formidable obstacles to accessing fresh healthy food, reports Nancy Shute.

March 14, 2013 - NPR

Jordan Rane profiles 8 historic towns from across the country that have overcome significant challenges to become desirable destinations once again.

March 14, 2013 - CNN

Democrats in Congress have returned to long-stalled efforts to craft a federal carbon-pricing scheme. With Obama having indicated in his State of the Union that climate change would be a focus of his administration, is there hope for progress?

March 14, 2013 - Grist

David Moser pens a compelling essay that examines the ways in which sprawling auto-dependent land use patterns exacerbate poverty. As more low-income individuals and families are pushed to the suburbs, "this problem is gaining urgency."

March 13, 2013 - Citytank

Providence, Rhode Island's vision for improving early childhood literacy has been selected as the winner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies' Mayor's Challenge, a nationwide contest seeking innovative and replicable ideas for improving cities.

March 13, 2013 - The New York Times

"Yes it can", at least to some extent appears to be the answer according to the WSJ. While the Keystone XL pipeline can move 830,000 barrels of oil a day, rail shipments are set to double this year to 200,000 barrels. Not so, according to the NRDC.

March 13, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Should architects recuse themselves from designing buildings that violate human rights? Raphael Sperry says yes, especially when it comes to two building types that are ethically troublesome: execution chambers and supermax prisons.

March 13, 2013 - The Architect's Newspaper

You've seen the news reports of skyrocketing gun sales due to the possibility of tightened gun restrictions in the wake of the Newtown, CT tragedy; yet the headlines of vocal opposition to gun control belie America's declining gun ownership rate.

March 12, 2013 - The New York Times

According to a new report, U.S. transit ridership increased to 10.5 billion rides in 2012 - a 1.5% increase over 2011, despite transit shutdowns and reductions caused by Superstorm Sandy. High gas prices, and their volatility, was a major cause.

March 12, 2013 - USA Today

The impending bankruptcy of the Highway Trust Fund a lack of clear purpose for national transport investment has Eric Jaffe asking if, after 120 years, we might be witnessing the end of federal transportation funding as we know it.

March 11, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Already popular in several sectors, 'gamification' is increasingly being used to educate and engage the public around sustainability issues. Can "using fun and games for serious purposes" bring about environmental improvements?

March 11, 2013 - The Guardian

Taking the important first step in becoming an urban cyclist is often the most daunting. But with some pieces of advice and knowledge, anyone can become a confident urban cyclist.

March 9, 2013 - Global Site Plans - The Grid

This week, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced the Brownfields Utilization, Investment and Local Development Act of 2013 (BUILD Act), a bill aimed at assisting local communities in remediating and redeveloping contaminated sites.

March 8, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Paul Barter answers with an unequivocal no. He outlines the reasons why debates over the elimination of parking minimums should be decoupled from transit, and identifies other reforms that can make parking changes palatable.

March 8, 2013 - Reinventing Parking

When electricity was still in its infancy, municipal leaders turned to "moonlight towers" to provide mass illumination for their cities. Megan Garber explores the "brief and literally shining moment" in the history of electric streetlights.

March 7, 2013 - The Atlantic

Gallup and Healthways have released their annual state-by-state assessment of America's well being. For the fourth consecutive year, Hawaii tops the list.

March 7, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Jake Blumgart compares free transit in Europe with case studies in the U.S.

March 7, 2013 - Next City