United States
Pop-Up Stores Find New Popularity in Bad Economy
Pop-up stores -- stores that fill retail space for a couple of quick months, than vanish -- were once scoffed at by retail landlords. Today, they're plugging holes in the retail economy.
Recession Taking A Bite Out of City Budgets
A new report from The National League of Cities shows that declining property and sales income is impacting city coffers, resulting in layoffs and cuts to construction projects.
Chicago Schoolchildren to Ride Greener, Safer Buses
As the new school year starts, Chicago Public Schools yellow buses will be upgrading to new technologies including GPS, mobile data terminals (MDT), and adding hybrid buses.
Balancing Rail Passengers, Freight, and Sustainability
Caltrain, the California passenger rail train, intends to electrify its rail system by the time high-speed rail comes online. This is at odds with freight railroads, however, and may lead to an increase in trucks on the road.
Development Comes to a Halt, as Obscure Agency Loses Funding
Two jobs in the Howard County Soil Conservation District were cut on Friday, leaving developers with plans in for review in the lurch. Officials are scrambling to find funding to get development rolling again.
Broadband Stimulus Grant Requests Flood In
The application period has opened for federal stimulus grants to fund broadband Internet access projects in underserved areas. The response has been overwhelming.
States Cutting Economic Development Budgets
Retail Traffic Magazine reports that money-starved states like California are raising taxes on commercial property and gutting local economic development agencies, hurting developers.
Can Living in a Bad Neighborhood Make You Fat?
A new study of public high school students suggests a connection between obesity and feeling unsafe in one's neighborhood.
Tarmac 2.0
New solar road technology could both absorb solar energy for electricity and provide a changeable LED grid that could respond to traffic conditions.
Moving Beyond "Town Brawls"
The health care reform town halls are just the latest evidence that traditional forms of public engagement are no longer effective and in fact can be counterproductive, writes Sandy Heierbacher.
College Towns Stay Vibrant
Towns with universities are doing better through the economic crisis than most, attracting jobs and preserving property values.
How Do We Pay For City Services?
Inspired by the revelation that Oakland, CA is stepping up their traffic and parking enforcement to make up a budget shortfall, Geoff Manaugh rethinks the entire process of how we fund our cities.
Do Not Let There Be Light
As city budgets tighten, streetlights are getting the ax in an effort to save money.
Balancing the Needs for Transportation Between Cities and Within Cities
Yonah Freemark, blogger at The Transport Politic, argues that long-distance transportation projects like high-speed rail are essential to creating a balance of intercity and intracity transit.
To Share or Not to Share? The Great Transit Data Debate
Some transit agencies keep it under wraps, while others share it widely. Three cities in the U.S. show how the availability of transit arrival data is a wild frontier.
The Importance of the Informal Playground
Unstructured play is a mainstay of childhood. But dense urban areas offer fewer opportunities for free-form playtime, writes Alex Marshall. Kids have to take what they can get, and often it's not much more than an empty parking lot.
Op-ed in NYT Claims Peak Oil is Bad Science
Energy consultant Michael Lynch argues that there are upwards of 10 trillion barrels of oil out there, as opposed to the 2 trillion that peak oil proponents recognize.
Maryland Taps Feds for $360m in Rail Projects
Seeking federal stimulus dollars for its own set of "shovel ready" projects, Maryland submitted an application to the Federal government for $360 million to improve its passenger rail system.
Renewable Energy Goes Small and Wide
Small scale hydroelectricity projects are popping up all over the country, especially in remote and environmentally sensitive places.
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
