United States

Homeowners who gambled on risky mortgage products could find themselves paying hundreds of dollars more per month in the coming year as these products are reset to real-world interest rates.

January 6, 2006 - Herald-Tribune

Planning Magazine examines how cities are encouraging multifamily projects and higher densities.

January 5, 2006 - Planning Magazine

Prefabricated housing used to be a dirty word in the housing business. Today, many designer prefab houses are an affordable and elegant solution -- maybe even the "holy grail of modernism".

January 5, 2006 - Wired Magazine

Federally-sanctioned distortions in the housing market are leading the American economy over a cliff, writes Bob Chapman.

January 5, 2006 - From the Wilderness

School officials in Oregon are learning a thing or two from a prototype uber-green classroom near Salem, which uses a large skylight and other technologies to enhance and regulate the natural light coming into the space.

January 5, 2006 - The Oregonian

Willie Nelson's concern for family farmers and disdain for the Iraq war led him to market a new brand of biodesil fuel, BioWillie, now sold at 13 gas stations in the Southwest.

January 5, 2006 - The New York Times

Planners are not the only ones figuring out how to respond to the challenge of 'the Biggest Box Ever Built.'

January 5, 2006 - Fast Company

Cities are spending millions on land to protect water supplies.

January 5, 2006 - The Wall Street Journal

The big green stories of the year, as reported by Grist Magazine, involved hurricanes, climate change, Bush follies, and oh yeah, one or two good things.

January 4, 2006 - Grist Magazine

As home energy costs continue to increase, scavenging for wood in metropolitan areas may become a common sight.

January 4, 2006 - From the Wilderness

Is the government's focus on brownfield development a distraction from other toxic sites that are more dangerous, but have less commercial appeal?

January 3, 2006 - The Boston Globe

The Census Bureau's projected U.S. population for the year 2030 is 363,584,435, 23 percent more than today's population of 296 million. The Washington Post asks six observers how this growth will change the country?

January 3, 2006 - The Washington Post

Auto manufacturers have been required to meet overall efficiency standards for their fleets. More realistic CAFE ratings may translate into fewer of the more popular but less fuel-efficient models on showroom floors next year.

January 3, 2006 - The Bellingham Herald

While Congress quickly approved $3 billion to restore New Orleans' levees, a bill to help states repair aging dams has languished for a year.

January 3, 2006 - The Christian Science Monitor

The dramatic increase in homeowners' associations has some worrying about the implications for local governance.

December 27, 2005 - The Baltimore Sun

The concept of 'passive survivability' includes measures that protect inhabitants during disasters. Should these measures be incorporated into building codes for civic buildings?

December 27, 2005 - Environmental Buildign News

Voorhees was instrumental in designing the roads and transportation systems in at least four national capitals, including Washington.

December 26, 2005 - The Washington Post

The real estate boom has helped the fortunes of architects and developer who built in the 1960s and 70’s and who have been fairly obscure until real-estate brokers began resuscitating the reputations of lesser-known mid-century figures.

December 25, 2005 - The Wall Street Journal

Home sales dropped in November by the largest percentage since 1994. Is this the beginning of the end for the real estate bubble?

December 25, 2005 - CNN.com

Smart City Radio investigates why the branding of cities is so often done so poorly,

December 24, 2005 - Smart City Radio