United States
EPA's Emissions Waiver Not Enough
This editorial lauds the new president for acting hastily on granting the waiver to allow CA and 13 states to require higher mileage vehicles, but warns it must not be an end in itself. A higher gas tax, it notes, will do more to reduce emissions.
Peter Calthorpe's Stimulus Prescription
In this op-ed, Peter Calthorpe warns against a massive investment to stimulate sprawl as was done after WWII. He notes 3 areas that need smart investment to make the American Dream sustainable: urban transit, environment, and multi-family housing.
Towards A Transit Future
This piece from The Nation looks at the prospect of transit in America, what a renewed nationwide system could accomplish, and what it would take to achieve politically.
Building Codes Gone Green
From Boston to Austin to L.A., more and more cities across the U.S. are making efforts to reduce their carbon emissions and environmental impact by instituting green building codes.
Good for Enviros, Chore for Landlords
The newly passed stimulus bill's sustainability elements are blessings for green builders and environmentalists. As far as commercial property owners are concerned, however, those elements may be seen as too much work for little benefit.
Opinion: Beware Toll Road Privatization
Author, WSJ columnist and Huffington Post blogger Thomas Frank cautions against the public-private partnerships that are leasing public toll roads, warning that it isn't in the public interest; that they will become affordable only to the wealthy.
Branded Spaces Spreading
"Branded cities" -- new heavily-sponsored real estate developments with a mix of live- work- and retail-space -- are gaining popularity among developers and spreading around the country.
Vehicle Retirement Program Considered For Stimulus
A program known as ‘cash for clunkers’ is being considered for inclusion in the Senate stimulus package to make the U.S. auto fleet more fuel-efficient and stimulate demand for new, cleaner cars. Will the older vehicles will be scrapped or resold?
History Tested Foreclosure Mitigation: Accessory Apartments
Accessory apartments benefit society and the economy, and it's time for tax credits to promote them, according to this oped from Patrick H. Hare and George W. Liebmann.
Recession Hits Homeless Shelters
The recession is leading to a surge in demand for homeless shelters and services -- but also a dramatic drop-off in normal sources of funding.
Towards 'Dynamic' Zoning
Don Elliott, author of A Better Way to Zone, argues that dynamic zoning regulations can help cities grow appropriately and avoid bottlenecks to good development.
Open Source for Planners
Mark Gorton, creator of Limewire started developing his GeoServer software in 1999. Recently Portland adopted the software to plan bus routes. Gorton wants to foster a new revolution in participatory planning.
Half of Americans Want to Move
Nearly half of Americans want to move to a different part of the country, according to a new survey. Denver and San Diego rated as the most desirable cities to relocate to.
Friday Bummer: Final Parking Spaces
A researcher of weird roadside attractions stumbled onto an unusual clash of land uses - cemeteries wedged into parking lots. Here's a collection of photos.
Older Streets Are Safer Streets
Wes Marshall and Norman Garrick, after a study of data from 130,000 car crashes in California, have determined that cities built since since 1950 have more dangerous roads than those built before 1950.
Towards Land Recyclability
Urban development needs to be re-considered as urban redevelopment, according to this column from MinnPost.
Global Warming Slips In Public's Consciousness
Global warming has slipped precipitously in the public's mind as a top concern, as the nation's recession took the number one slot in a Pew Research Center telephone poll. In fact, it ranked last in a list of 20 issues, yet 'energy' was #6.
USDA Loans Push Rural Housing
A little-known USDA program offers Rural Development Guaranteed Loans, which would allow low-income residents to buy homes in "rural" areas--places with fewer than 25,000 people. Under this guideline, many suburbs in Phoenix qualify.
ASCE Report Warns of "Deteriorating Conditions"
The American Society of Civil Engineers has released their 2009 report card on America's infrastructure. Its GPA is equivalent to a D.
Streetsblog: Advocacy Journalism and the Reconquering of the American City
The Internet is a trove of great ideas about improving cities. Filling blogs and personal websites, the vast majority of ideas out there are little more than that: ideas. New York City's Streetsblog -- now a growing nationwide force -- is transforming the conversation into action.
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
