United States
Two Decades, Major Shifts
From growing minority populations to growth in the South and West, The United States has undergone major shifts in the last 20 years, according to this analysis from USA Today.
The Small Town Impact of Post Office Closures
The U.S. Postal Services is considering a plan to close more than 3,600 of its 32,000 post offices. This piece from New Urban News looks at the impact of those closures on the small towns likely to be affected.
Turning Foreclosures into Rentals
As the Federal Housing Administration looks for new ways of dealing with the nation's foreclosed homes, more voices are calling for those homes to be repurposed as rentals.
FAA Impasse Is Omen For Rural America
Four thousand FAA workers furloughed and 70,000 contractors were laid off as a result of a congressional disagreement on subsidies to rural airports and a labor provision.
Reinterpreting the City Clutter of Utility Boxes
Utility boxes are cluttering city streets all over the world. But they're not going away, and cities should start to try to find new ways to blend them into the urban fabric, according to this article from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Bringing New Life to Urban Rail Lines
Cities across the country are breathing new life into abandoned and disused inner city rail lines.
Nation's Poor Reside in Suburbs
Suburban growth has coincided with the increase in immigrant population. Yet, while immigrants account for 30 percent suburban population growth, they account for only a fifth of the increase in the poor population, a recent Brookings study showed.
U.S. Credit Downgrade, Recession Fears May Impact States, Cities
States' borrowing ability may be limited and federal deficit reductions are expected to leave municipal market in limbo, report Kathy Bergen, Kristen Mack and Monique Garcia for Chicago Tribune.
From One Crisis to the Next: Congress Must Pass a Transportation Bill for All Users
The U.S. is going from one financial crisis directly into another, as SAFETEA-LU, the omnibus transportation bill, expires next month, writes Roxanne Blackwell of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Linking American Individualism to Transportation Planning
Author Russell Shorto claims that "the willingness of Europeans to follow top-down social planning" makes public transit and bicycling more feasible in European cities than they are in the States where people don't always agree with technocrats.
No New Taxes = No Renewed Federal Gas Tax?
Matthew Yglesias writes on the upcoming expiration of the federal gas tax as the next political hurdle facing a divided Congress that has enormous infrastructure and budget deficit implications. The Republican 'no new taxes' pledge may apply.
"Phonehenge West" Relegated to the Dustheap of History
In Antelope Valley, Calif., Alan Kimble Fahey's 70-foot tower - aka "the highlight of his life's labor" - was eviscerated on Friday along with the rest of his 20,000-square-foot quirky concoction. The court found it in violation of local codes.
Sure These Cars Can Talk, But Do They Listen?
Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) announces the winners of the Connected Vehicle Challenge that asked people to submit ideas, using the Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) technology to its full potential.
Making Bicycle Ambassador A Real Job
Matt Seaton argues that "after significant investment in cycling infrastructure, biking needs better PR." Would a bike ambassador make the difference?
Cities Adapting to Older Populations
Cities with high populations of older adults are beginning to alter their programs and street signs to make it easier to respond to senior citizens' needs.
Can the Ultra-Ex Project Save Cleveland?
"Vacancy begets vacancy." With more than 1,000 vacant lots adding to the city's running total of 20,000 each year, Cleveland is on an Ultra-Ex mission to prepare these sites for tomorrow's housing renaissance.
Grand Rapids Goes Glee
After landed No. 10 on MainStreet.com's "America's Dying Cities" list earlier this year, Grand Rapids, Mich., shows the world that the city is anything but. Its citywide rendition of Don McLean's classic gets almost 4 million hits on YouTube to date.
Can Community Land Trusts Work for Retail Centers?
New Orleans, San Francisco, and Albuquerque are exploring, and implementing, community land trusts as an economic development tool that can encourage development in business districts while assuring that local businesses are not displaced.
Planning for Robots
Art student Diego Trujillo-Pisanty is considering what a future of domestic robot servants would do to the built environment.
Putting Alternative Fuel Stations on the Map
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy released an interactive map displaying thousands of alternative fuel stations around the nation.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
