United States

The Governor's Highway Safety Association released a report citing an uptick in pedestrian fatalities in the first half of 2010 and speculates on all sorts of reasons for this except poor road design.

January 21, 2011 - Greater Greater Washington

Joel Kotkin argues that most U.S. cities that were struggling in the '60s and '70s have forged a comeback and should no longer need the sort of redevelopment and federal attention they've been given.

January 21, 2011 - New Geography

Banned for its combination of caffeine and alcohol, the makers of Four Loko were faced with a problem: what to do with their leftover stocks. A Virginia company is recycling the controversial hootch into ethanol for cars.

January 21, 2011 - Popular Science

According to this article in Area Development Online, developing a brownfield is a no-brainer: infrastructure is in place, governments have redevelopment funds to support it, and "the PR flip is huge."

January 21, 2011 - Area Development Online

Renewable energy is still only 2.3% of the U.S. energy production. David Biello asks, can renewables be ramped up in time to combat global warming?

January 20, 2011 - Yale Environment 360

In an excerpt from his new book, Bill Fulton suggests that it's time for America's cities to focus on prosperity, not population.

January 20, 2011 - Bill Fulton

A recently released report reveals that intercity bus travel has reversed a decades-long trend of decreased use and shows that the industry is growing at double the rate than air travel, reports Jonna McKone of TheCityFix.

January 19, 2011 - TheCityFix

Writing for Metropolis, Karrie Jacobs bemoans America's slow pace of growth in transportation infrastructure, and blasts efforts as being too "incremental".

January 18, 2011 - Metropolis

Quiet cars are spreading to subways and trains across the country. But what about conversation cars, for people who WANT to talk? Alex Marshall says cars for socializing would be great for creating community.

January 17, 2011 - The New Daily News

The New York Times reports that retailers more used to selling aspirin and greeting cards are now offering more elaborate grocery options.

January 17, 2011 - The New York Times

Part of a new proposal to cut billions from the federal budget includes eliminating the historic preservation programs Save America's Treasures and Preserve America.

January 17, 2011 - Governing Magazine

DOT Secretary Ray LaHood responds to a Washington Post editorial that condemned not only the California High Speed Rail project, but President Obama's vision for a national high-speed rail network.

January 17, 2011 - The Washington Post

A second Pew Center report on transportation and climate change has been released. It places most emphasis on vehicle technology and fuel, less on transit and smart growth. However, urban planners should note that pricing policies are stressed.

January 17, 2011 - Pew Center on Global Climate Change

Charles A. Birnbaum bemoans the lack of quality journalism covering landscape architecture, which often gets overshadowed by architecture criticism and shunted into the Home & Garden section of the paper.

January 16, 2011 - The Huffington Post

Randal O'Toole points to a thesis paper that proposes a new approach to traffic flow at major intersections.

January 16, 2011 - The Antiplanner

Sound recordist and architect Nick Sowers offers an audio experience of the annual festival Burning Man.

January 15, 2011 - Places

Streetcars -- a relatively old transportation technology -- have more traction than high tech solutions like monorails in the modern age of mobility. Want proof? Just look at Disneyland, says Tom Vanderbilt.

January 15, 2011 - Slate

Surveys show that those born between 1980 and the early 2000s want to live in an urban setting -- and not in a humongous house.

January 14, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire is part of a growing national trend of empowering local government with areas that have been run by states, such as education. Reporter David Brewster says this is a movement the right and left can agree on.

January 13, 2011 - Crosscut

With a fleeing population, Youngstown, Ohio was ahead of the current trend on "shrinking cities." So what can planners learn from Youngstown's example?

January 13, 2011 - New Urban Network