United States
Bike Sharing, C'est Bien en Paris
Jay Walljasper writes that bike-sharing programs are transforming life in European cities from Oslo to Rome, Barcelona to Vienna, and giving visitors a great new way to sightsee.
Satisfied in the Suburb
According to the Pew Research Center, suburban dwellers are the most content with where they live, despite reports that also find that suburbs are not regarded the most ideal places to live.
Don't Regulate the Suburbs
The Heritage Foundation decries Obama's anti-sprawl policies, claiming that smart growth strategies have only managed to raise housing prices around the country.
Experts Question $8 Billion HSR Stimulus Investment
No one expects the $8 billion to build any one single high-speed-rail system in the U.S. But the U.S., with its vast distances and low gas prices, is not Europe or Asia, and some question whether the investment will produce any substantial results.
Traffic Down 30% in Cities: How?
New data show that in 2008 traffic congestion in the nation's cities declined by 30 percent, the result not of new roads or transit, but of modest declines in VMT.
Negative Equity on Nearly One-Fifth of U.S. Homes
About one out of every five homes in America is worth less than what is still owed on its mortgage. The highest rates of negative equity are in Nevada, Michigan, Arizona, Florida and California.
Incentive Program to Ward Off 4 Million Foreclosures
The Obama Administration has outlined plans to assist nearly 4 million homeowners in danger of foreclosure. The total cost to taxpayers runs close to $75 billion.
A Model For Public Works, But A Bad One
The Highway Act of 1956 that resulted in the construction of America's Interstate Highway system has gathered a lot of praise recently as a model economy-boosting public works project. But based on the problems it's caused, that praise should stop.
How States are Divvying Up the Transportation Money
This article provides a general breakdown of how state governments plan to use the first installment of transportation spending money from the stimulus. The leeway states have in how to spend has sparked debates among legislators.
From Concrete Box to LEED-Certified
Prisons around the country are looking less and less like the typical concrete box; Washington state has 34 LEED-certified prisons, some of which offer "green work" programs.
Mortgage Rescue Plan Rolls Out
Americans caught up in the foreclosure crisis can now apply for relief from the Obama Administration's new "loan modification plan."
Don't Fear the VMT Fee
The Christian Science Monitor editorializes in support of the VMT fee replacing the gas tax just as the latest federal transportation financing commission report recommends, as Oregon Governor Kulongoski hopes to do, and as some will do in Europe.
Stimulus Should Get Rail Back on Track
Treehugger interviews urban designer, New Urbanist, and rail advocate Andy Kunz about the stimulus package and how it will benefit high speed rail in America.
Shovels Are In Motion, Says Obama
The President and V.P. addressed the Department of Transportation today, stating that the new investment in infrastructure "will create or save 150,000 jobs by the end of next year, most of them in the private sector."
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."
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
