United States

Job Growth Linked to Housing Supply

Job growth is slower in areas that don't have enough housing, according to a new study.

January 3, 2009 - The Boston Globe

Bridging the Broadband Gap in Inner Cities

As President Elect Obama delivers his weekly address via YouTube, half of all Americans don't have the broadband access necessary to watch.

January 3, 2009 - Business Week

Kunstler Predicts 2009

James Howard Kunstler predicts the Dow falling to 4000 by the end of the year, more dramatic swings in oil prices, and an overall contraction of services and the economy.

January 2, 2009 - Straight.com

Rand: Best Congestion Strategies Are Price-Based

In 2008, RAND Corp. conducted a study on mitigating traffic congestion in Los Angeles. They studied two types of strategies: conventional, e.g. signal timing, and market-based, e.g. increased the price of driving. The results were surprising.

January 2, 2009 - Gristmill Blog

Stripped Malls

Retail analysts predict a "sea change" in the retail landscape in 2009, with a record number of bankruptcies, closures and vacancies.

January 2, 2009 - CNN Money

A Place For Sustainable Food in Obama Administration?

This column looks at President-elect Barack Obama's food politics and wonders just how sustainable his administration's food policies will be.

January 2, 2009 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

SUVs And Light Trucks Make Comeback

Cheap gas, great deals, and winter weather resulted in SUV and light trucks resuming their dominance in vehicle sales in December, climbing to 51% of all sales, as Prius sales dipped 48% in November.

January 2, 2009 - CNNMoney.com

NYT Editorial And Column Push Gas Tax

A NYT editorial and NYT columnist Thomas Friedman both arrive at the same conclusion - some type of gas tax is essential for both the auto bailout and Obama's goal of greening the U.S. economy.

January 1, 2009 - The New York Times

A Glimpse at Incoming Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood

This brief profile in Time offers a look at newly-appointed Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, in his own words and in the words of others.

December 31, 2008 - Time

Obama Plan: Stimulating The Economy Or Sprawl?

Obama has compared the size of the stimulus package he wants to the 1956 National Highway Act. If the states have their way, it may be just that -- a new highway bill with little left for transit.

December 31, 2008 - Bloomberg

One-Third of Americans Breathing Too Much Soot

People in 46 American metropolitan areas breathe air that exceeds federal soot levels, according to new figures from the Environmental Protection Agency. Nearly one-third of all Americans live in affected areas.

December 30, 2008 - San Francisco Chronicle

Federal Funding Seems Likely for California High Speed Rail

California transportation officials are confident that federal support will back up $10 billion in recently approved bond sales to fund the state's proposed high speed rail system.

December 30, 2008 - San Francisco Chronicle

Funding Sources Need Revision to Enable Obama's Highway Plans

President-elect Barack Obama's plans to update the nation's highway system will be limited by funding. Congressional transportation officials are calling for an update of the gas tax, among other changes.

December 30, 2008 - NPR

The End of America?

A Russian analyst is predicting the 2010 dissolution of the United States into at least six republics, each under the influence of foreign nations.

December 30, 2008 - Wall Street Journal

LaHood a 'Spending Superstar'

The Wall St. Journal calls new transportation secretary Ray LaHood the "secretary of earmarks", and one of the biggest spenders in Congress.

December 29, 2008 - The Wall St. Journal

Housing Starts Plummet

The latest figures show a dramatic drop in housing starts across the United States -- a sign, according to Dean Baker, that builders are having trouble securing credit.

December 29, 2008 - Center for Economic and Policy Research

Nearly the End of the Line for S.U.V.’s

The last S.U.V.s rolled off the assembly line at General Motors' plants in Janesville, Wisconsin and Moraine, Ohio, victims of both the economic crisis and the plummeting market for gas guzzlers.

December 29, 2008 - The New York Times

Streetcar Suburbs Without Streetcars?

Matthew Ridgeway wonders if the infrastructure benefits of new streetcar projects- facade improvement, streetscaping, community investment- could happen with direct investment, leaving streetcars out of the picture.

December 29, 2008 - coolconnections.org

Pain at the Pump, Suburban Blues and the Resurgence of Compact Growth

A paradigm shift is occurring in the development patterns of American cities -- even the inner cities that have struggled for decades with decay and abandonment, writes Kofi Sefa-Boakye of the Compton Community Redevelopment Agency.

December 29, 2008 - Kofi Sefa-Boakye

Census Reveals Recession’s Effect On Migration

The U.S. Census Bureau released its report for the year ending July 1, 2008. It showed that the effect of the recession was to reduce domestic migration from the Northeast and Midwest to the West and Sunbelt. Utah was the fastest growing state.

December 28, 2008 - The Wall Street Journal

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.