United States

Madison Ditches Rail, Considers BRT

After Madison, Wisconsin withdrew its FTA application for funding of a commuter rail system, the city has been wondering where Transport 2020 is going next. The buzz now includes Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

October 8, 2009 - The Cap Times

"Not Your Father's White House": Obama's Urban Renewal Agenda

With Adolfo Carrion Jr. appointed as a "cities czar" and federal stimulus dollars flowing to urban sustainability projects, the Obama Administration aims to concentrate development to boost "environmentally and economically viable neighborhoods."

October 7, 2009 - Washington Post

Immigration Detention Hotels?

Homeland Security is looking to change the way the detention of nonviolent undocumented immigrants is handled. Among the ideas for a more appropriate detention system: converting hotels and nursing homes to hold people who are not accused of crimes.

October 7, 2009 - The New York Times

'Zombie Subdivisions' Eating America's Suburbs

Thousands of subdivisions across the country have been abandoned mid-development by owners and developers hit hard by the economic recession. This video takes a tour inside one of these "zombie subdivisions".

October 7, 2009 - CNN

O'Toole Blames Planners for Housing Crisis

In a new report with the Cato Institute, Randal O'Toole takes off the gloves and lays the blame for the housing crisis squarely on urban planners.

October 6, 2009 - The Cato Institute

Not So Fast- Seniors Moving to Cities

A report by the MetLife Mature Market Institute says that seniors are moving away from suburbs and to more walkable, urban areas.

October 6, 2009 - San Jose Mercury News

Boomers Get Rural

A new report from the USDA says that baby boomers will be flooding out of metropolitan areas and into the countryside over the next ten years.

October 6, 2009 - The Oregonian

Bike Traffic Around America, in Pictures

Streetsblog asked readers from around the country to submit photos of bikes in action around the country. The result is a slide show that brings the nation's burgeoning bicycle culture to life.

October 5, 2009 - Streetsblog

REVIEW: My Kind of Transit: Rethinking Public Transportation in America

Far from a boring treatise on the need for public transit, My Kind of Transit is an appeal on behalf of the emotional factors that make most transit repulsive and a select few forms enjoyable and uplifting.

October 5, 2009 - Tim Halbur

Wanted: Better Tools for Climate Modeling and Land Use

Anthony Flint makes the case for the great need for tools that can connect urban planning strategies and climate change effects.

October 4, 2009 - Citiwire.net

The Rural Recession

A new report from the Economic Research Service looks at how the economic recession is affecting rural areas. For the most part, things are a lot worse in America's nonmetro areas.

October 3, 2009 - The Daily Yonder

Top 10 Cities for Today's Youth

The Wall St. Journal assembled a panel to determine which cities will be the next 'youth-magnets,' using factors like economic diversity and lifestyle to make their selections. Number one? A tie between Washington, D.C. and Seattle.

October 2, 2009 - The Wall St. Journal

Fastest Growing Areas in U.S. Also the Whitest

As we learned in The Big Sort, America is sorting itself into enclaves of people with similar beliefs. In Whitopia, Rich Benjamin shows that the fastest growing areas are also the most white.

October 2, 2009 - Miller-McCune

1 in 3 Mortgage Applications Denied in 2008

The Federal Reserve announced that 32% of loan applications were denied last year, and applications on the whole were down by a third from 2007.

October 1, 2009 - Builder Magazine

TOD Becoming Popular -- And Expensive

HUD-subsidized housing in transit-oriented developments could become more expensive as it ages out and TOD becomes more popular, says a new study by AARP, Reconnecting America and the National Housing Trust.

October 1, 2009 - Reconnecting America

Are U.S. Winds Slowing Down?

Some recent studies show that the winds are slowing in the U.S., but others say it is speeding up. Regardless, variable winds could have a great impact on the wind power industry.

October 1, 2009 - Miller-McCune

The Debate Over Metropolitan Planning Organizations

In the midst of an important debate in Washington, DC over the future of America's transportation funding, a report issued this month by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified several challenges facing regional transportation policy.

October 1, 2009 - Northwest Hub

How to Speak Senior Citizen

Elaine Cogan gives these tips for talking about planning issues with senior citizens and getting the most out of them throughout the planning process.

October 1, 2009 - Planning Commissioners Journal

U.S. Senate Set To Begin Climate Legislation Battle

The Senate will introduce on Sept. 30 its companion bill to the Waxman-Markey climate change legislation that has already passed the House of Representatives. Both bills rely on 'cap & trade' to meet their greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

September 30, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal - Politics

Dead Malls: Suburban Planning Nightmare or Opportunity?

Failing malls didn’t get into trouble overnight: most began their descent long before the tough climate.

September 30, 2009 - Building Place Notebook

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.