In desirable cities across America, home prices are well on their way back to pre-bust levels. But in areas like Chicago's southern suburbs, prices are down more than 40 percent from recent highs, and approaching were they were twenty years ago.
"Across a swath of suburban Chicago, many longtime homeowners' biggest asset has become dead money," reports Abraham Tekippe. "While an index of Chicago-area single-family home prices is continuing to climb since bottoming out last year, data from research firm CoreLogic Case-Shiller show that prices in some south suburbs have dropped to where they were in 1992, when a gallon of regular gas cost $1.15 and a year of in-state tuition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was $2,486."
“'We're like in some kind of a time warp here in the south suburbs,' says Janice Minton-Kutz, a broker associate at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage with several listings in the area. 'It's really sad.'”
FULL STORY: Where the housing recovery is only a faint hope

National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.

Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.

Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.

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Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
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.
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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
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Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service