United States
Friday Funny: The End of America's Love Affair with the Car
Assuming everything is fine in its long-time relationship with America, the car comes home to an unhappy surprise in this cartoon from Streetsblog.
'Slumburbia': Exurban Decay Spurred By Mortgage Crisis
The mortgage crisis is devastating many communities far from urban centers, while 'inner cities', regionally speaking, are weathering the financial storm far better thanks to their urban form that makes them attractive to those that can afford them.
Domestic Migration Slows Even In Sunbelt Due To Housing Crisis
The nation's housing downturn has spread to the fastest growing counties in the sunbelt, where most saw reduced domestic migration in the year ending July 1, 2007, while more rural counties experienced population losses.
Will the Housing Bubble Swallow the Fed?
J.P. Morgan's federally-back purchase of Bear Stearns holds billions in dubious "mortgage backed securities," and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are pumping hundreds of billions into the market. Time may be running out for the Federal Reserve.
Iraq War Spending: What Could We Have Built Instead?
Robert Pollin & Heidi Garrett-Peltier writing in The Nation show that the U.S. has spent hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq that could have been much more productively invested in public goods like sustainable infrastructure.
The Army Corps and The Mississippi River: An Interactive Look
Grist offers this interactive look at various Army Corps of Engineers projects along the Mississippi River, part of its series on the Corp and the River.
Big Dig's Aftershocks
A look at how the specter of Boston's Big Dig cast a dark shadow over proposed freeway replacement plans in Seattle and other cities.
Replacing Transit with Toll Roads
The Department of Transportation under President Bush has placed an emphasis on market-based measures such as toll roads to alleviate congestion, and this has public transit advocates worried that the Federal government sees no role for transit.
Global Impacts on Downtowns
This report from Progressive Urban Management Associates outlines the ten trends that will impact downtowns over the next two decades.
Implications of Driving Less
A new report from the American Public Transportation Association hypothesizes that people who live in places shaped by transit tend to drive less thereby reducing their overall petroleum use and their carbon footprint.
Friday Funny: DOT Plans Special Lanes for Dangerous Drivers
The Onion reports on an innovative new infrastructure plan from DOT: self-cleaning special lanes for reckless drivers.
Smart Growthers Snooze, EJ Advocates Roar, Carbon Solutions Wither
The coal industry, electric utilities and manufacturers are in line to get trillions of dollars in federal funding to reduce carbon emissions, leaving virtually no money for smart growth and transit solutions to climate change.
Report Calls for More Transit Investment
A recent report form the U.S. Public Interest Research Group highlights the arguments for increased investment in public transportation.
Anti-McMansion Movement May Benefit Architects
A recent ruling that upholds the right of local communities to control overbuilding may prove to increase the crackdown on McMansions -- and demand for design professionals and architects.
South Parked
James Howard Kuntsler muses on how the end of cheap oil will mean the parallel decline of the suburban sprawl economy of the South and its NASCAR subculture.
Universities Reconnect with Cities
Universities across the country are reviving their connections to their host cities, participating in urban renewal projects and investing in their cities' futures.
The Developing Role of Charrettes
This episode of Smart City includes a discussion about charrettes with Bill Lennertz of the National Charrette Institute.
States Respond to Growth With Dam Plans
Growth and rising populations have many Western states reconsidering dams.
Traffic Crashes Cost Twice as Much as Congestion
A traffic safety study released March 5 by the AAA highlights the enormous costs of traffic crashes, in terms of lives and dollars, to the U.S. The cost exceeds that of congestion while deaths amount to 117 daily.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
