United States
Fake Windows = Fake Urbanism
Urban designer Susan Braun points the finger at pharmacies and other suburban retailers who intentionally break the connection with the street by blocking up their windows.
The Experience Heading Into The Urban Policy Office
This piece from The New York Times looks at the career and experience of Adolfo Carrion, the new director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs.
America's Most Congested Cities
Forbes has released its list of the most congested cities in America. Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas and Washington D.C. top the list.
Raise The Gas Tax AND Switch To VMT Fee, Says Commission
The National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission advises Congress that the U.S. is in an infrastructure crisis, and that they must raise the gas excise tax by ten cents now and begin the switch to a VMT fee.
Housing Prices Low, But Not Affordable
The housing market has bombed, bringing prices and values to devastating lows. But despite lower prices, affordable housing is still in too short of supply, according to this piece from Time.
Stimulus To Help As Transit Tries To Keep Up
American Public Transportation Association President William Millar visits Living on Earth to discuss how the stimulus will benefit public transit in the U.S. -- and why it's "the best of times and the worst of times."
The Best Housing Markets for 2009... and the Worst
Builder Magazine selects 15 picks for the best housing markets to be in in the U.S. in 2009. Houston, Texas comes out on top, and, predictably, Detroit scrapes the bottom.
Better Transportation Needs Better Cities
A new design competition is seeking solutions to L.A.'s transportation problems. But the real solution may not have anything to do with transportation at all.
Recovery or Rerun?
A new government-sponsored watchdog website will allow citizens to track stimulus-funded projects. It's an effort to insure accountability. Neal Pierce wonders if that accountability will translate into smarter patterns of development.
Obama Budget A Boon For New York
The new federal budget represents a broad increase in funding for urban programs. New York in particular is to benefit greatly from the new spending plan.
Sprawl A Major But Ignored Factor in Infrastructure Costs
The federal stimulus package has made infrastructure into a hot topic among states. But, as Mary Newsom writes, states are not addressing the land use patterns that drive up the costs and bring down the efficiency of infrastructure.
HUD's Budget Money
This brief from the New York Times outlines how federal budget money will be used by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
As Gas Prices Drop, VMT Rises
Sightline's Clark Williams-Derry looks at low gas prices, a down economy, and vehicle-miles-traveled, noting that the precipitous declines in VMT have halted, and suspects it may plateau.
Poverty and Development: Two Birds, Possibly One Stone
Some organizations believe they hold the key to fighting poverty--economic development in the inner cities, which will in turn bring in private investment. But others maintain that both are hard to come by simultaneously.
Trucking Industry Prepping for Reauthorization Bill
The American Trucking Associations is preparing to focus their upcoming annual meeting on advocacy, promoting their agenda on the TEA-21 Transportation Reauthorization bill to Congress and the Obama administration.
Thinking Twice About Growth
Although denser is inherently greener, cities whose populations boom have their own set of challenges regarding sustainability. According to this article, achieving a balance between urban and rural growth is the most sustainable way to go.
How to Spend $8 Billion in High-Speed Rail Funds
Transportation reporter Tom Belden of the Philadelphia Daily ponders how and where the $8 billion in stimulus funds allotted to high-speed rail should be spent, referencing a report by the Progressive Policy Institute.
A Better Transit-Oriented Design
Kent Kammerer asserts that by jumping too quickly on a TOD bandwagon that stresses density, local municipalities may leave out elements of social infrastructure and adequate services--the real driving forces behind successful, walkable areas.
Metros Show Signs of Order Over Stimulus Money
As stimulus money trickles down to states, many worry the best laid plans for spending it will devolve into a frantic money grab among municipalities. But, according to this piece from Mark Muro, there are signs of order at the metropolitan level.
Feds Seek More Control Over Grid Transmission Lines
New legislation is expected to seek greater federal control over the siting of electrical transmission lines, a move lawmakers hope will ease the creation of a "smart" electricity grid.
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
