United States

Stephanie Clifford documents the extraordinary lengths malls across the country are going to in hopes of attracting customers in the face of e-commerce and a battered economy.

February 7, 2012 - The New York Times

Julie Cart writes about the solar power compromises being forged in the deserts of the American Southwest, where the landscape is being sacrificed on the altar of alternative energy.

February 7, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

A new study shows that a friendly reminder of the health benefits of taking the stairs can cause a sustainable increase in their use, writes Jeannine Stein.

February 7, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

President Obama's multi-billion dollar proposal to help homeowners involves providing them refinanced, government-backed loans. The plan is not without its doubters, however.

February 7, 2012 - PBS NewsHour

Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson raises the issue that there are not enough minorities representing the communities that planners and designers strive to make better.

February 7, 2012 - Grist

At the Transport Politic, Yonah Freemark provides a comprehensive overview of the 'all-out ideaoligical battle' being waged by the House GOP against public transit.

February 6, 2012 - the transport politic

Ben Adler writes about the growing contingent of policy wonks, architects, and architectural critics who believe that preservationists have acquired too much power.

February 6, 2012 - Architectural Record

Recounting the exalted heights that the profession reached in the last decade, and its complete meltdown during the Great Recession, Scott Timberg asks: where does architecture go from here?

February 6, 2012 - Salon.com

The 'lamestream media' picks up the story of Tea Party activists railing against efforts to control sprawl and conserve energy.

February 6, 2012 - The New York Times

Brad Plumer investigates widely echoed Republican claims that environmental rules are a major reason why it takes so long to build highways and bridges, and finds scant evidence to back up the claims.

February 6, 2012 - The Washington Post

As developers across the country increasingly recognize the market advantages of redevelopment oriented around transit, and property values rise in response, hundreds of thousands of units of affordable housing are at risk.

February 5, 2012 - Shelterforce

Having promised a new and progressive direction in urban policy, President Obama has instead been "destructive" for America's cities, argues Yana Kunichoff.

February 4, 2012 - Truthout

Treasury Secretary Ray LaHood warned Congress that according to a recent Congressional Budget Office report, the Highway Trust Fund will be broke come fiscal year 2014, due largely to more fuel-efficient vehicles and less driving.

February 4, 2012 - The Hill's Transportation Blog

Alex Marshall investigates the reasons why America's infrastructure resembles a third world country's, and decides that we have our arcane budgeting processes to blame.

February 3, 2012 - Governing

Gendered Innovations, a Stanford University project devoted to gender analysis, has revealed that miscategorization has obscured the fact that women ride public transit much more than previously believed, and much more than men.

February 2, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

According to the Ridesharing Institute, filling out cars with more passengers may be the cheapest, simplest way to ease congestion, reports Emily Badger. However novel strategies must be introduced to overcome the broad decline in carpooling.

February 2, 2012 - Miller McCune

The long awaited Transportation bill unveiled this week by House Republicans, the “American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act,” follows an unsurprisingly partisan path to solving few of the country's transportation challenges.

February 2, 2012 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Although they played a part in the ensuing financial panic, noted economist Mark Zandi argues why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac don't deserve to be blamed for the housing bubble.

February 1, 2012 - The Washington Post

Emily Badger explores the art of environmental graphic design, or wayfinding, and what it takes to strike the right balance between intuitive navigation and individual discovery.

February 1, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Writing for the Well blog, Jane Brody traces the direct link between 20th century development patterns and the leading causes of disease and death. Put simply, public health is the biggest challenge facing planners today.

February 1, 2012 - The New York Times