Government / Politics
How (Not) To Be Friendly To Small Businesses
Smaller cities across Southern California, like Santa Clarita, have discovered that being friendly to small businesses yields big rewards, especially when the mammoth City of Los Angeles is too big to care.
What Happens Without The Kyoto Protocol?
With the Canadian government under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper backing away from Kyoto in favor of a "made-in-Canada" solution, Jeffrey Simpson of the Globe and Mail asks, "If not Kyoto, then what?"
Time Right For Bush To Push Revenue-Neutral Gas Tax?
A New Yorker columnist compares today's sky-high energy prices with those during the Carter administration, and the scare of the terrorism of September 11 to that of December 7, 1941. She suggests that increasing the gas tax should be considered.
Hillary Clinton Supports Ethanol Use
New York Senator Hillary Clinton has revealed her plans to make ethanol use widespread by 2015. Is it a coincidence that Iowa, site of the first presidential caucus, is a leading producer of the fuel?
Redefining The New Urbanism In The Context Of Katrina
Author Matt Dellinger examines the work of the New Urbanists in Mississippi and Louisiana, and whether or not New Urbanism has reached the tipping point in terms of wider acceptance.
The New Urbanists' Losing Battle For Biloxi
The New York Times Magazine critiques the efforts of New Urbanists to redesign Biloxi, Mississippi, after Hurricane Katrina, referring to the group as "faintly cultish".
Editorial Criticizes California Governor For Raiding Public Transit Fund
California's November transportation bond is $20 billion, with $4 billion for transit. Yet Gov. Schwarzenegger proposes to use a public transit account for the same amount, to help pay off the bond's debt payments.
Exxon Takes Heat For Not Addressing Global Warming
The world's largest oil company takes heat from major state government pension fund investors for not owning up to an obligation to address global warming.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Calls Workforce Housing Ordinance 'Communistic'
Fort Lauderdale's mayor condemned a proposed workforce housing ordinance as unfair to developers and 'communistic'. He said people mistakenly think they're entitled to an affordable single family house on a 40-hour work week.
California's Official Pro-Sprawl City?
At the southern tip of California's San Joaquin Valley lies Bakersfield, a city of 312,000, expected to grow to 730,000 in three decades. It has just doubled its sphere of influence and shows little inclination to put restraints on growth.
New Mayor Looks To Heal A Battered City
Cory Booker, the newly elected mayor of Newark, New Jersey, has charged himself with turning around one of America's most dangerous cities.
Do Economists Agree On Road Pricing?
A new academic journal article offers an interesting and highly detailed history of the concept of road pricing, and evaluates where economists have (and have not) reached consensus on the issue.
Kunstler On Peak Oil And Politics
Urbanist James Howard Kunstler talks about peak oil, the railway system, new urbanism, and politics.
New 100 MPG Prius Shown Off To House Subcommittee
A team of Northern California promoters of "plug-in hybrids" demonstrated their technology to a House science team. While receiving bi-partisan endorsement, success may be in the hands of the auto industry.
Do Industrial Development Agencies Work?
Only a third of the projects supported by six Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) around New York met their job creation goals, according to a report by the state comptroller's office. Is this another nail
Seven County Central Florida Region Initiates Long-Range Planning
With the seven-county Central Florida region projected to double its population by 2050, coordinated planning is critical. The think tank myregion.org will start a 15-month visioning process with a meeting May 17th.
California Misses Conservation Needs On Infrastructure Ballot Initiative
While praising California's long ethos of conservation, which separates it from most of the country, Sacramento Bee columnist Peter Schrag laments that conservation was not included in the $37 billion bond issue scheduled for the November ballot.
Fast-Growing Florida County Approves Controversial Long-Range Plan
After months of discussion, St. Lucie County Commissioners approved a controversial amendment to their long-range plan. The "Towns, Villages and Countryside" plan limits growth to towns or villages instead of subdivisions, and mandates open space.
Al Gore's 'Slide Show' Clicks With Audiences
Al Gore's new documentary about global warming is expected to have an impact on public consciousness.
Miami's Most Ambitious Planning Project
With a focus on simplifying the development process and historic preservation, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, the lead consultant on the Miami 21 Project, unveiled the first quadrant of the City's most ambitious urban planning project to date.
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
