Nate Berg

<p>After a lull in ridership, more people are now riding metropolitan Albuquerque's commuter rail line, thanks to the opening of new stations. The rail line is less than one year old and now counts more than 2,000 riders per day.</p>

<p>Plans to build affordable housing in Baltimore have incited local residents to collect hundreds of signatures in opposition to what they fear will destroy their neighborhood.</p>

<p>A canal in Brooklyn has been contaminated by sewage and runoff for years, but as conditions begin to improve, developers are thinking about ways to build houses in the primarily industrial area.</p>

<p>This message is brought to you by the frustrated residents of a city where strip malls prosper and the stock of affordable housing struggles to keep up with demand. </p><p><img src="/files/u5174/20070407-housingcrisis.jpg" alt="Housing Crisis In L.A." title="Housing Crisis In L.A." width="400" height="272" align="middle" /></p><p>A new strip mall being constructed at the intersection of Venice Blvd. and Western Ave. in Los Angeles inspired this public display. </p><p>Strip malls are in no short supply in L.A., and this is just one example of yet another being built in the city. Unmixed-use retail developments like this are popping up all over the place. Much less new housing is being built. And a sharply lower amount of new <em>affordable</em> housing is being built. </p>

<p>Similar to a proposal being pushed by Arizona legislators, an economist in Minnesota has cautioned the state over providing too many subsidies and tax incentives to big retailers.</p>