United States

Twitter, iPhones, and new sites like SeeClickFix make it increasingly easy for citizens and governments to communicate. Along with newly available data sets, these "Gov 2.0" apps may signal a new era of active citizens and responsive governments.

January 29, 2010 - CNN

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are in Florida today to announce a funding package for a variety of high speed rail projects. In total, $7.9 billion in funding is being announced.

January 28, 2010 - The New York Times

The housing market -- and especially the exurban housing market -- played a major role in bringing about the current economic recession, according to this piece from Christopher Leinberger. He says sprawl is unlikely to regain its lost value.

January 28, 2010 - The New Republic

Increasing amounts of Americans are soccer players, and the parks and park planners in American cities are beginning to reflect the sport's growing popularity, according to this piece from the Regional Plan Association.

January 28, 2010 - Regional Plan Association

A huge boost for the CA High Speed Rail project will result from an injection of $2.25 billion from President Obama's $8 billion HSR stimulus funds, twice as much as any other project.

January 28, 2010 - Mercury News

The foreclosure crisis spreading across America has burdened cities and neighborhoods with value-draining vacancies and abandoned properties. To counteract the economic havoc they've caused, planners and policymakers must focus on restoring confidence in the market, according to neighborhood planning consultants Charles Buki and Elizabeth Humphrey Schilling.

January 28, 2010 - Charles Buki

In the 1950s, nearly 1/5 of Americans moved each year. That trend is quickly reversing. Americans are now staying put in greater numbers than at any time since World War II, and experts have plenty of opinions on why that is.

January 28, 2010 - New York Times

Bob Bengford discusses the feasibility of updating land use/design codes using a form-based approach for planners in the Northwest.

January 27, 2010 - MRSC Planning Advisor

'I'm pretty convinced we're in the midst of a transformation which is probably as profound as what happened immediately after the Second World War,' says planner Ken Greenberg in an interview in Metropolis.

January 25, 2010 - Metropolis Magazine

While cities may seem permanent, a group called Architecture 2030 claims that a majority of the buildings in cities today will be rebuilt by the year 2035.

January 25, 2010 - Grist

The recent election of a new mayor in a small town on the Japanese island of Okinawa has severely threatened plans to build a new U.S. military base in the town.

January 25, 2010 - The New York Times

Human-scaled, creative development isn't getting built because most of the money in real estate comes from institutional investors that prefer predictable, large scale projects like subdivisions and strip malls, says Neil Takemoto of CoolTown Beta Communities.

January 25, 2010 - Neil Takemoto

As offshoring becomes more expensive due to the higher costs of shipping an international infrastructure, more companies are making plans to expand their manufacturing operations at home.

January 25, 2010 - AreaDevelopment Online

Dan Zack, downtown development coordinator for Redwood City, CA, gave a 50-minute presentation on Delightful Density to a Palo Alto audience on Nov. 5. This 12-minute excerpt is composed of 17 buildings - get out your pencils and guess their density.

January 24, 2010 - YouTube

With a substantial investment, it would be possible for the eastern half of the U.S.to get 30% of its electricity from wind power, according to a new report from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

January 24, 2010 - Grist

The tide is turning from the last half century, with population trends heading inward and urban from the sundered seas of suburbia.

January 23, 2010 - New Urban News

In the 2nd part of an expose featured previously on Planetizen, reporter Matthew Lewis uncovers the significant number of lobbyists influencing transportation policy in Washington.

January 22, 2010 - Center for Public Integrity

The expense of properly carrying out recycling and trash programs is weighing on cash-strapped states. Government is pushing back, with new requirements mandating that manufacturers take some of the load.

January 22, 2010 - Miller-McCune

This piece from Miller-McCune looks at the conservation easement and explains how the legal device is being used to protect land and prevent sprawl.

January 22, 2010 - Miller-McCune

This essay from Places looks at today's economic depression, the nation's crumbling infrastructure, and various efforts to rethink they way America looks at fixing its cities.

January 22, 2010 - Places