United States

Judy Woodruff reports on the Department of Justice decision requiring government and private building owners to alleviate architectural barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from taking full advantage of facilities' amenities.

March 17, 2012 - PBS NewsHour

Yonah Freemark has authored a comprehensive examination of the policy and process behind the Senate transportation bill passed on Wednesday. But will it come to anything?

March 16, 2012 - the transport politic

Dan Reed cautions against an elitist aversion to sterile and inauthentic "town centers" – for all their supposed faults, they offer a stepping stone for the uninitiated masses to get interested in "true" urbanism.

March 16, 2012 - Greater Greater Washington

Tim Maly analyses a stunning high-resolution map of America’s forests for its lessons on the subtle choices that go into good visual information design for multiple audiences.

March 15, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Design

Enjoying bipartisan support, the Senate's two-year, $109 billion transportation and infrastructure bill was approved by a comfortable 74-22 vote margin this afternoon, reports Jonathan Weisman.

March 14, 2012 - The New York Times

The increasing recognition of waterfronts as a recreational and redevelopment asset belies its continued value for trade and industry. Will Doig makes the case for the oft-antagonized shipping industry in the tug-of-war over waterfront real estate.

March 14, 2012 - Salon

Inspired by three books published in the last year that help to elucidate the role of cities and density in making people and countries richer, Ezra Klein compiles some lessons for economic development in the United States.

March 13, 2012 - The Washington Post

Today, Gallup Wellbeing has released new findings on community satisfaction and optimism, evaluating 190 U.S. metro areas based on how residents feel about where they live and where their community is headed.

March 13, 2012 - Gallup Wellbeing

Jeffrey Spivak reports on the federal government's pioneering efforts in net-zero building design and construction.

March 12, 2012 - Planning

A new study released today by the American Public Transportation Association shows that public transportation ridership across the United States increased by 2.31% in 2011 over the previous year, rising to the second highest level since 1957.

March 12, 2012 - USA Today

Grist has asked its readers to help it compile some of the country's "most craptastic urban rebranding efforts ever." And boy have they delivered.

March 12, 2012 - Grist

In this second and final look at how to achieve Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich's promise of $2.50 gas, Marketplace's Kai Ryssdal reports on a subsidy strategy discussed in The Atlantic. Earlier he presented a price controls approach.

March 11, 2012 - Marketplace (American Public Media)

Eric Jaffe interviews Jarrett Walker, the author of a new, nonpartisan treatise on thinking rationally about transit.

March 11, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Fortune has re-published a provocative essay by Jane Jacobs, originally published in the magazine in 1958, as large scale urban renewal projects were taking off in cities across the country.

March 10, 2012 - CNN/Money

Jason Jordan reports on the good news from Capitol Hill, as the Senate has agreed on a path forward to end the amendment process and pass its 2-year, $109 billion surface transportation authorization bill next week.

March 9, 2012 - APA Policy News

Mimi Zeiger pens a contrarian's take on the growing popularity of DIY urbanism, noting the danger in what she deems a conservative urban-planning position.

March 9, 2012 - LAB|log

Matt Bevilacqua reports on the new wind in manufacturing's sails.

March 9, 2012 - Next American City

Wage inequality does not tell the whole picture of the growing income inequality in the United States, writes Richard Florida, who examines the myriad other factors that may be driving this trend.

March 8, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Here is a list you presumably do not want to find your city on: the most obese metro areas in the country. Dan Witters breaks down the results that Gallup has recently released as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

March 8, 2012 - Gallup Wellbeing

The short answer is yes, according to this NPR report that includes interviews with energy experts. The boom in shale fracking for oil and natural gas and the zeal of small energy companies is to credit. But UC Berkeley's Don Kammen has his doubts.

March 7, 2012 - NPR