United States

Lloyd Alter weighs in on the debate over the shrinking, or growing, size of American homes, seeing the influence of affluent homebuyers as driving an increase in size.

March 1, 2012 - Treehugger

Jason Kambitsis speaks with Bruce Katz, the founding director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, about his advocacy for taking a fundamentally different approach to urban development based on economic diversification.

March 1, 2012 - Wired: Autopia

Kaid Benfield reports on the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology's robust, interactive Housing + Transportation Affordability Index, a fantastic resource for location-specific information, including housing and transportation costs.

March 1, 2012 - Switchboard

The House is working to amend its transportation bill, but what takes its place is far from certain. Burgess Everett reports on speculation that the GOP is aiming to shorten the length to two years, and make a host of other changes.

March 1, 2012 - Politico

Rebecca Sanborn Stone profiles several innovative communities that are utilizing citizen-guided art projects to communicate values and ideas, break down barriers, and guide planning efforts.

February 28, 2012 - EngagingCities

In an effort to stabilize neighborhoods and reduce the glut of foreclosures in the marketplace, Fannie Mae is beginning to sell foreclosed properties in bulk to investors to test the market for rental homes, write Alan Zibel and Nick Timiraos.

February 28, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal - Developments Blog

Richard Florida reports on a new map showing the results of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which analyzes a number of "happiness" factors on a statewide level.

February 28, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

In another sign of the coming apocalypse, a bipartisan group of House members have devised an entirely sensible way to cut greenhouse gas emissions, grow employment, and shrink the budget deficit in one fell swoop, by placing a price on carbon.

February 28, 2012 - The Washington Post

Michael J. Coren shines a light on an innovative crowdfunding site targeting neighborhood improvements.

February 28, 2012 - Fast Co.Exisit

Robert Poole reports on efforts across the country to reduce freeway congestion through HOV-to-HOT conversion and public-private partnerships.

February 27, 2012 - reason.com

In a guest editorial for Rust Wire, Nick Gurich examines the ways in which LEED discounts the environmental benefits of historic preservation and adaptive reuse

February 26, 2012 - Rust Wire

As cities across the country build and revive their streetcar networks, a sense of nostalgia for the time when they could be found in cities across the country is leading to a thriving business in refurbishing old streetcars.

February 26, 2012 - Governing

Tom Stoelker pens a feature in The Architect's Newspaper examining the decades-long upheavals in retail and current efforts to shape retail in ways that will preserve urban character while growing the economy.

February 26, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Remember that trend toward smaller houses widely predicted and reported, well Lew Sichelman sees the inverse in figures recently reported at the annual convention of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in Orlando.

February 24, 2012 - Urban Land

Chuck Wolfe traces the comeback of sandwich board signage in cities, explains how associated regulations work, and offers reasons why such signage should be carefully fostered.

February 24, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Writing from Austin, Texas, one of the current centers for hipster culture in the U.S., Lauren Modery proposes a list of the next cities she believes are ripe for an explosion of old-timey facial hair, geeky eyewear, and overall hipsterfication.

February 23, 2012 - CultureMap Austin

Cezary Podkul and Emily Stephenson examine the likely economic and social consequences of efforts by the U.S. Postal Service to close thousands of rural post offices this year.

February 22, 2012 - The Washington Post

February 21, 2012 - Thomas Sigler

In an opinion piece for Politico, three Washington insiders propose several principles along which the United States should re-imagine its infrastructure in order to provide the means for future prosperity.

February 21, 2012 - Politico

With current federal transportation policy expiring on March 31, House and Senate recesses this week leave only 16 legislative days to craft some sort of transportation deal.

February 21, 2012 - Streetsblog D.C.