Government / Politics

Ever wonder why LA's skyline is so bland? Apparently it was planned that way.

January 18, 2012 - KCET Departures

The 102-mile circle that would become the Denver beltway sees no sign of completion as one city--one of Colorado's oldest--vociferously opposes it. But, at a regional level, it may be too late to curb decentralization and sprawl.

January 17, 2012 - The New York Times

On Tuesday, China's National Bureau of Statistics announced that China has, for the first time ever, more urban than rural dwellers.

January 17, 2012 - The Telegraph

The Supreme Court decision to approve the elimination of California's redevelopment agencies late last year set February 1st as the date of dissolution. A new bill in the state senate would slow down the clock.

January 17, 2012 - California Planning & Development Report

Just three weeks after the city announced it was cancelling plans for a 9.3-mile light rail line, a truncated version may be built, but with some key caveats.

January 16, 2012 - the transport politic

Writing in the online edition of the January issue of Planning, Bobbie Peyton explores what can be learned from the pioneering Foodshed Planning efforts of San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego.

January 16, 2012 - Planning

An update on efforts by the City of Los Angeles to develop a new ordinance to allow artists to legally paint on the walls of private property.

January 16, 2012 - KCET Departures

Catering to potential office tenants who would want more modern spaces, New York City officials are toying with rezoning a swath of midtown Manhattan, allowing for even more density and the replacement of aging office buildings.

January 15, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

In addition to the resignation of Roelof van Ark, CEO of the High-Speed Rail Authority, Chairman Tom Umberg has stepped down, though he will remain on the board. Gov. Brown has indicated he will merge the Authority with Caltrans.

January 15, 2012 - San Jose Mercury News

...so more than a third went with "Other" in the last Census. Mireya Navarro reports on the rift between ethnic and racial identity experienced by some Latinos and the challenges the Bureau faces in designing a better questionnaire.

January 14, 2012 - The New York Times

A new study concludes that encouraging businesses to prosper and create jobs is the most important function of local government.

January 14, 2012 - 24/7 Wall Street

Super-fast, beautifully-designed trains are the all the rage again in China, but safety, pricing, and technology concerns now need to be bumped to country's rail priority list to make it work.

January 13, 2012 - The Economist

A police sergeant displayed his mediation skills at a regional planning meeting by temporarily replacing the facilitator after 20 tea party activists disrupted the meeting.

January 12, 2012 - The Press Democrat

The City's top budget official has warned that dismantling the Redevelopment Agency could cost the city more than $109 million in new expenses.

January 12, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

According to a team reviewing the city's finances, a state-appointed emergency manager may not have to be put in place, indicating that Detroit isn't necessarily going broke. However, the city and union leaders must act quickly to prove so.

January 12, 2012 - The Washington Post

Used by Condoleezza Rice and George W. Bush to define a key difference between "free" and "fear" states, historian Jeffrey Wasserstrom looks to the global public uprisings of 2011 to prove the validity of the Town Square Test.

January 11, 2012 - Miller-McCune

Since the Japanese government spent $300 billion rebuilding Okushiri after a 1993 tsunami, things have taken a grim, ironic turn: with high-paying construction jobs leaving, so are young people who no longer wish to be part of a fishing economy.

January 11, 2012 - The New York Times

"Look out, Silicon Valley"-- A decades-long effort to bring technology-based firms to New York City is beginning to see a payoff, according to this piece from The Economist.

January 11, 2012 - The Economist

January 9, 2012 - John I. Gilderbloom

Cities and redevelopment agencies are pushing for legislation that give them a stay of execution. Meanwhile, cities are evaluating which projects will be impacted.

January 9, 2012 - California Planning & Development Report