United States

In the last installment of a three-part series on "Buy Here Pay Here" car dealerships, Ken Bensinger reports on the link between car ownership and income among the poor. Historically, legislation for low-income car ownership has been resisted.

November 4, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

Former OH Sen. George Voinovich and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are spearheading the push, but they are by no means alone. The groups came together in 2009 - another one may be in the works with the current transportation extension ending March 31.

November 3, 2011 - Politico

"Redfields to Greenfields," a project currently being developed at Georgia Tech in partnership with City Parks Alliance advocacy group, would convert empty commercial sites into parks, writes Nate Berg for The Atlantic Cities.

November 3, 2011 - The Atlantic Cities

In response to the Occupy Wall Street movement the staff at Salon.com have brainstormed a "New Declaration of Independence" for guiding the United States into a more progressive future.

October 31, 2011 - Salon.com

Do you want your transportation dollars spent on the National Corvette Museum, turtle tunnels, giant roadside coffee pots, restoration of Battleship Texas? These are some of the "tall tales" being spun by Republicans about the transportation bill.

October 31, 2011 - Huffington Post

Eric Brown of Brown Design Studio proposes some solutions for retrofitting cul-de-sacs to reconnect them with the urban grid.

October 31, 2011 - New Urbanism Blog

The passage by the PA state senate of a bill allowing Pittsburgh and other cities to use red light traffic enforcement cameras has drawn a strong warning and a study from Penn Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) to only use them for safety purposes

October 30, 2011 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In fact, that's putting it positively, as the battle may already have been lost according to House Transportation Chair John Mica. Enhancements, most of which fund pedestrian and bicyle projects, may become voluntary rather than a requirement.

October 28, 2011 - The Washington Post

The Trader Joe's grocery chain, which has long cultivated a funky neighborhood vibe, is going national and opening bigger stores. Will communities still love a big box TJs?

October 28, 2011 - The Los Angeles Times

With the increasing popularity of online shopping, many shopping centers are losing retailers left and right. More unusual tenants are filling in the gaps, like gun ranges and bounce houses.

October 27, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

Public participation is an important part of the urban planning process, says Michael Hooper, as "it improves project outcomes and the likelihood of project success." But lately, some prominent people are saying that it hinders the planning process.

October 27, 2011 - Next American City

The results of our crowdsourcing project, in collaboration with the Project for Public Spaces, reveal not an objective Top 100 but instead a handful of communities passionate about their own local public spaces.

October 27, 2011 - Tim Halbur

Many sport agencies are realizing the benefits of going green. John McHale Jr., executive vice president at M.L.B. said “just because you can’t do everything doesn’t mean you can’t do something.” Many others are doing their part to help as well.

October 27, 2011 - The New York Times

Internet server farms suck up enormous amounts of energy keeping all those mainframes cool. So Facebook has announced it will build in Northern Sweden and use only the natural air to chill their facility.

October 27, 2011 - The Telegraph

"Carjacked" author Anne Lutz Fernandez says Time's tearful coverage of the traffic deaths of a 72-year-married Iowa couple fails to recognize the true problem: that Americans are persuaded that driving = living.

October 26, 2011 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

In this Washington Post blog, Brad Plumer writes on a New American Foundation report on rising gas prices and their disproportionate impact on the poor and middle class. Public policies intended to reduce fuel consumption, however, benefit the rich.

October 25, 2011 - The Washington Post - Blogs

Hurricane Irene brought flooding to the M and R subway lines in Queens, prompting the MTA to seek innovative ways to prevent it from happening again. Rogers Marvel Architects developed an innovative solution that also creates a bench above.

October 25, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

As part of an "Occupy America" tour, Arun Gupta visits Occupy protests in three rust belt cities, and finds that the economic forces that unleashed the global recession long ago stripped these cities of their economic and social fabric.

October 25, 2011 - Salon.com

New Urbanist Peter Katz presents his guidelines for creating a popular urban park. First published in 1995, Katz's ideas still hold up.

October 24, 2011 - New Urban Network

The food truck phenomenon is here to stay and stimulating tangential industries that include truck outfitters, permit expediters, lawyers lobbyists, website designers, and marketing professionals.

October 24, 2011 - The Atlantic