United States
Andrés Duany Wants to Reform The Public Process
Architect and urban innovator Andrés Duany has a new bone of contention: the usurping of the planning process by the public during the approval stage for new projects. Managing Editor Tim Halbur reports from Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Rise of the Electric Bike
In China, an estimated 120 million electric bicycles are on the streets. So why haven't they caught on in the U.S.? Reporter Alan Durning thinks its time.
Planning for Smart Regions
The Regional Plan Association recently held their Annual Regional Assembly, focused this year on technology and innovation. Thomas K. Wright of the RPA talks about some of the smart ideas that came out of the assembly.
Jobs Remain Elusive in Many Metros
Only 16 of 384 metropolitan areas saw job increases over the last year, according to a new study.
Stats Systems to See Upgrade in Federal Budget
This post from The New Republic explains how the federal budget includes plans to upgrade some of the varied parts that track statistics in the country.
Community Design for Public Health
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are getting in the urban design racket with a new guide to community design that focuses on how urban form can affect public health.
Kotkin Ranks Best Cities for New Jobs
In a survey developed by Pepperdine's School of Public Policy for New Geography, Joel Kotkin says the results are depressing. Only 13 metro areas saw any job growth in the last year.
This Earth Day, Make the Connection With Land Use
Patrick L. Phillips, CEO of the Urban Land Institute, uses the occasion of Earth Day to say yes, "how we use land matters."
Forbes Ranking Finds Cities in "Free Fall"
Forbes Magazine analyzed major economic indicators for the country's 40 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) and discovered that 10 cities are facing worsening economic conditions.
The One-Two Punch of Job Losses and Falling Home Values
Housing devaluation and job loss are the two major problems affecting America's urban areas. But as this article from Governing explains, those two problems are playing out in drastically different ways from metro to metro.
Distracted from Infrastructure
With huge financial problems facing government at all levels in the U.S., some worry that infrastructure will fall by the wayside as budgetary priorities are laid out.
Subdivisions Built Around Agriculture
This article from GOOD wonders whether farms could become the new cornerstone amenity in suburban residential communities.
The Story Behind Suburban Poverty
Next American City talks with the Brookings Institution's Elizabeth Kneebone about the growth of poverty in suburban areas.
Streetcar Suburbs May Not Actually Support Streetcars
Yonah Freemark suggests that the original streetcar suburbs were actually not dense enough to continue supporting streetcars back in the day.
Government Turns to Prize-Sourcing
The Federal government spends almost $137 billion a year on research. A new paper suggests that Federal, state, and local govs would encourage significantly more innovation by holding contests with a cash prize.
Carrion Promotes "Generous Zoning Around Transit Hubs"
Director of the White House Office of Urban Policy Adolfo Carrión says that The White House wants to encourage the creation of "neighborhoods that are rich with opportunity."
Climate/Energy Gas Tax Nixed
Despite many reports to the contrary, the developing climate legislation by Senators Graham, Lieberman, and Kerry to be unveiled April 26 will not include a fuel fee, reports The Hill. And don't blame the oil industry - they supported the gas tax.
Rethinking Rural Development
Silos and smokestacks are the way of the past for rural area development, according to economist Mark Drabenstott who offers a new idea for bringing economic activity to rural places.
Miami: The Changing Face of America
The city of Miami is the setting of a forthcoming book by novelist Tom Wolfe, whose works have come to define eras in American culture. Some say his selection of Miami as a setting shows that the melting pot city is the face of a changing America.
Shrinking Cities: Urban Renewal Revisited?
The theory that shrinking ailing cities is going to cure them is unproven and wrongheaded, says Roberta Brandes Gratz -- and is fueled by the same forces behind the urban renewal practices of the mid-20th century.
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
