Government / Politics
Miami Approves 50-story Electronic Signs
The Miami City Commission has controversially approved a pair of 50-story electronic signs to be built atop a parking garage next to the City's Arsht Performing Arts Center.
The Government Greens Its Real Estate
The Public Buildings Service, which is responsible for charging and collecting rent on 9,600 public buildings across the 50 states, has been asked to go green by retrofitting and smartening its aging buildings.
San Francisco Pins Utopian Hopes on Treasure Island
San Francisco has always been home to utopian dreamers. With a clean slate to work on in the middle of the bay, the city has drafted plans for a sustainable utopia. With politics and money kicking in, will the dream be dashed?
Bike Advocacy Rule #1: Show Up!
Bike Blogger Richard Masoner offers some tips on how to successfully advocate for effective bicycle facilities, covering the gamut from bike parking to placement of bike sharrows.
Senate Abandons Climate Bill...Now What?
On July 22, the congressional attempt to pass comprehensive climate change legislation officially ended for the year. That day the World Resources Institute unveiled a report assessing carbon reductions possible under existing federal and state law.
L.A.'s New Planning Director
It's been nearly three weeks since Los Angeles Planning Director Gail Goldberg resigned. Now, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has nominated a new director: Michael LoGrande.
Battling Over the Nile's Water, Forgetting About its Ecosystem
Despite flowing through ten different nations, the Nile's water is only technically the property of Egypt and Sudan. The other eight nations are trying to change that. But as the debate heats up, the river's ecosystem may be caught in the cross-fire.
Facing the 'Generational Mismatch'
Two age groups are rapidly growing in the U.S.: baby boomers and minors under 18. The difference is that one group is primarily white, while the other is overwhelmingly not.
Homesteading 2010
A small town in Nebraska is reviving the Homestead Act, offering plots of land to people in order to cash in on property taxes down the line. Other places are following suit.
London's Suburbs Attempt to Assert Their Independence
"London's councils seem set on continuing the imbalance between the city center and outer suburbs, where the former supplies most of the jobs, and the latter most of the residents." Joe Peach reports on economic potential of suburban independence.
Does Architecture Increase Educational Attainment?
As the British Government shelves the project to build and rebuild schools across the nation, Rowan Moore, architecture critic at The Observer and Rick Jones, teacher and journalist consider the effect building design has on learning.
Dispelling the Myths Surrounding China's Growth
Adam Meyer, an architects practicing in Chengdu, scrutinizes some of the myths and projections surrounding China's rapid economic growth which have become so popular in the last half decade.
Census Chaos Looms as Stats Canada Chief Resigns in Protest
Canada's chief statistician has quit in a very public protest over the Harper government's announced plan to replace the Canadian Census "long form" with a voluntary census.
How Accurate Are California's HSR Ridership Figures?
When she read over the ridership estimates behind California's HSR plans, Elizabeth Alexis was expecting to have "obscure arguments over the standard deviations," but instead found glaringly obvious "math" mistakes.
Not Enough T in the DOT?
The federal government is paying more attention to the land use impacts of the transportation projects it's funding. Next American City's Yonah Freemark worries they may be paying too much attention.
Good Capitalists and the Meltdown
Suburbia has brainwashed Americans into being good capitalists, which brought about the economic crisis, according to neo-Marxist economic geographer David Harvey.
For Lack of a Better Term
Chuck Wolfe discusses the challenge of finding a more marketable term to encompass all of the prevailing theories of "transit-oriented development", "walkability", and "liveability." His suggestion? Urbandwidth.
Privatizing Local Civic Services to Save Cash
Cities across the country are being forced to outsource or privatize many of their basic civic services like janitors, police and trash collectors due to huge budget deficits. The moves are saving millions.
Protecting The Open Spaces of Cascadia
Forest land and open space have been steadily gobbled up by development in the Pacific Northwest. A new initiative in Washington seeks to relocate some of developers' planned greenfield housing into cities.
Outsourced City
The City of Maywood, California has completely outsourced all of its civic services and turned local officials into contract workers. Though some worried the city would crumble, it's actually taken a turn for the better.
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.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
