United States
Amtrak Routes Now on Google Transit
A recent partnership between Google and Amtrak will allow users of Google Maps / Google Transit to see Amtrak routes as a possible mode of travel, Webwire reports.
Steep Decline in Homeownership, Home Building Predicted
A new report shows that as the population of the U.S. ages, it is likely that more people will rent than own homes, causing a steep decline in the home building industry.
Housing Market: Not Dead Yet
The housing crisis may be coming to an end, according to some nationwide indexes. And though prices are likely to continue to fall for about a year, some homebuilders are un-pausing their projects and moving forward.
Why Public Transit Doesn't Work In The U.S.
Gas taxes, parking charges, toll roads - these are the ingredients to making transit successful, according to experts who state that it's not enough to offer good transit - driving must become more expensive. Add to that high density land use.
Clunkers Program Extended By Senate
With not a moment to spare, the Senate passed the House-approved version of the Clunkers program extension - an additional $2 billion to last to Labor Day, and then went into recess. Any changes would have ended the program.
Are Wider Roads Safer?
The "Forgiving Highway" concept of the 1960s proposed the idea that wider, straighter freeways would be safer. Not so, says TTI.
Where Are We Going To Charge Our Cars?
Cities need stations where electric cars can recharge in order for the new technology to take off and become a reality in the future, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Homes vs. Cars: Which Stimulation Package is Working?
The Center for Public Integrity runs the numbers, and finds that Americans are cashing in on "Cash for Clunkers" at a rate of $77 million a day, vs. $39 million for the first-time homebuyer credit.
A Whale of a Savings
Clark Williams-Derry has been searching the horizon for the Moby Dick of smart growth statistics, and he's found it in a new study out of UC Irvine.
Urban Policy's Organic Emergence
The White House Office of Urban Affairs is officially in action, but the creation of urban policy seems to have started on its own, according to this column form Neal Peirce.
Circuit City's Out, Grocery Stores are In
Retail Traffic Magazine reports that grocery stores are increasingly moving into the spaces vacated by big box and chain retailers.
Watching Trash
Tracking tags have been implanted in garbage in New York and Seattle to monitor where garbage goes and how municipal waste management systems can improve.
Learning Water Conservation on the Golf Course
As water resources dwindle, golf course managers are becoming go-to experts on conservation.
When Clunkers Become Junkers
Where do those 'clunkers' go once they've been accepted by the new car dealer for a $3500 or $4500 credit from the Cash for Clunkers program? Turns out the economic stimulus continues with the auto wreckers, junkyards and recyclers.
The Best and Worst U.S. Cities to Find Jobs
This infographic from Good shows how unemployment numbers compare in various metros in the country.
The Cost of a Hypothetical High Speed Rail Line
Economist Edward L. Glaeser crunches the numbers on a hypothetical high speed rail line between Dallas and Houston and finds the costs prohibitive.
'Distracted Driving' Summit Called By LaHood
In a sign of how serious the administration is taking traffic safety, DOT Secretary Ray LaHood called for a special meeting to deal with 'distracted driving', primarily the technological type - cell phones, both hand-held and hands-free, and texting.
The Dwindling, and Highly Necessary, Property Tax
Tax caps, assessment limitations, and other property tax relief programs have caused significant damage to the largest source of revenue for ailing cities, says a new book by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Density Isn't Everything
Neal Payton says that density gets too much of the limelight when planning transit-oriented development, and that design and diversity should get more focus during the planning stages.
Mortgage Modification Bad for Banks
James Surowiecki dispels the myth that banks are better off renegotiating mortgage then foreclosing.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
