United States
Working From Home: An Urban Planning Revolution
A piece in The Atlantic argues that telecommuting trends could have significant impacts on the built environment.
Senate Climate Bill Called A Gas Tax
The American Power Act climate legislation by Senators Kerry and Lieberman, unveiled May 12, does have fees that oil refineries must pay, but is it a stretch to call the bill a disguised gas tax? Edmunds.com analyses American Solutions charge.
Evolving Beyond the Long Commute
Car commutes used to be long by necessity. But that's no longer the case, according to Richard Florida in this video from The Atlantic.
Trying to Fit In With the Cool Kids
This post from The Urbanophile explores the world of city branding, and argues that some cities are making the mistake of ignoring their own assets and focusing on trying to embrace the successful assets of others.
Cities Seek to Quantify Rise in Bicycle Ridership
Planners in cities across the country are installing electronic sensors to track how many people are making use of bike lanes and trails.
A Possible Dead End for High Speed Rail
Despite what seemed to be a gung-ho Federal government, high speed rail could flop in the U.S., according to this piece from The Infrastructurist.
Targeting Private Buildings For Energy Reduction
If cities want to curb energy use, they should focus on private buildings, according to this article.
How Sprawl Created the Gulf Oil Spill
This commentary from Urban Omnibus looks at how the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a problem with roots in unsustainable land use.
Friday Funny: 'Rude and Inconsiderate' Environment
This article from The Onion looks at the Environmental Protection Agency's increasing frustration with a global environment that is not playing its part in environmental protection.
Want Rail? Let Private Business Build It
Christopher B. Leinberger proposes that privatized rail could stimulate the economy and help increase property values.
Enforcing Fair Housing - For Real
After a lawsuit in New York State, HUD has taken up the stick and is threatening to terminate funding to housing programs if civil rights fair housing regulations are not met.
Senate Climate Bill To Fund Transportation And Affect Fuel Markets
The American Power Act sets limits on greenhouse gas emissions, creates a cap, trade, and dividend program that rebates funds to energy bill payers, directs $6 billion yearly to targeted transportation programs, and curtails EPA's climate authority.
Obama's Mortgage Rescue Plan a "Frankensystem"?
Mike Whitney at Alternet warns that, between a poorly-understood "frankensystem" of federal housing relief combined with an estimated 9-year "shadow inventory" of distressed homes, homeowners are facing a "lost decade."
Greens Vs. HOAs
HOAs are mandated to protect the aesthetics of their community. That goal is clashing with many who want to install solar panels on their roofs. States are fighting back with laws prohibiting HOAs from banning panels.
Urban History, Coming to a TV Near You
In case your knowledge of urban history is a bit fuzzy, tune into the History Channel this week.
Ceding Local Control to Highway Planners
Roger Valdez looks back at the history of highways, and the switch from local control to state and federal control due to the burden of financing and maintaining roads.
New Housing/Mobility Measurement For Affordability Is 45%
The housing affordability rule of thumb is that you should not pay more that 30% of your income in rent or mortgage payment. Yet that ratio doesn't include the transportation costs that vary by community. What would it be if it was included?
Packing The Court -- With City-Dwellers
If Elena Kagan is confirmed, not only will the Supreme Court get its third sitting woman. It will also get its second woman New Yorker. Bill Fulton considers the importance of the urban experience in jurisprudence.
Sharing Land, Not Property
Community land trusts are an unusual but growing method of ownership, where the land is shared but members own their own homes. According to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, they're good for neighborhood stabilization and rarely foreclose.
Transit and Car-Sharing Get Boost from Technology
The increase in transit ridership and carsharing isn't just due to the rise in gas prices, but also the rise in new technologies providing up-to-the-minute reports on location and ride availability.
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
