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States, Congress Hampering Recovery in Cities, U.S. Mayors Say
Bloomberg Businessweek- June 15, 2012
U.S. cities recovering from the worst recession since the 1930s are hampered by partisan bickering in Washington, D.C., and pressure from state lawmakers to fill budget shortfalls, U.S. mayors say.

Why Housing Affordability Is a Mirage
The Wall Street Journal- June 14, 2012
Home prices and mortgage rates have made monthly mortgage payments lower than at any time in the past decade. But housing isn’t any more affordable than it was five years ago, during the go-go lending days, after factoring in down payment requirements and other financing terms, according to a new paper.

As Charlotte Expands, A Neighborhood Asks How Best to Urbanize
Next American City- June 14, 2012
More than a half-century after Park Road Shopping Center sprouted at what was then the southern edge of Charlotte, N.C., the Park Road-Woodlawn Road area has held up remarkably well.

Arlington, Alexandria compromise on streetcar line
Washington Post- June 14, 2012
The Arlington County and Alexandria city governments, divided over how best to pay for a streetcar line through the congested corridor between Pentagon City and Potomac Yards, have crafted a compromise aimed funding the project and addressing the expected growth and density in the area.

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Incentives for Drivers Who Avoid Traffic Jams
New York Times- June 11, 2012
London, Singapore, Stockholm and a few other cities around the world battle heavy traffic with a “congestion charge,” a stiff fee for driving in crowded areas at peak hours. But drivers generally hate the idea, and efforts to impose it in this country have failed.

Why Congress Must Save the American Community Survey
Streetblog DC – June 12, 2012
No other survey done by the government – or anyone else – provides such a rich source of information about the economy and American society.

Transportation Secretary: ‘America is one big pothole right now’
MSNBC – June 12, 2012
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood appeared on Tuesday’s edition of Hardball to urge Congress to invest in repairing America’s crumbling infrastructure.

Campbell Soup buys building it wants to raze
Businessweek – June 11, 2012
The Campbell Soup Co. on Monday purchased a landmark building in the impoverished city of Camden as part of a plan to redevelop the neighborhood surrounding the corporate headquarters of the Fortune 500 company.

What’s better for old people: city or suburb?
Minnpost (MN) – June 11, 2012
Which environment is friendlier to the elderly: city or suburb? That wasn’t the question directly addressed by “What’s Next? Boomer Generation Housing,” a recent seminar sponsored by the Urban Land Institute Minnesota, a group of public and private movers and shakers who work on community improvement strategies.

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Echo Boomers to Shape Housing Market for Next 2 Decades
US News- June 11, 2012
When it comes to the swooning housing market, sometimes it seems only a knight in shining armor can save it, and according to some experts, that salvation could come in the form of the so-called echo boomer generation.

Rust Belt Reboot Has Downtown Cleveland Rocking
NPR- June 11, 2012
“Downtown has a new energy, a new vitality; things that we really didn’t see a few years ago,” Alexander says. It sure doesn’t sound like the place that was long the butt of jokes by late-night comics, and there are similar stories coming out of Detroit, St. Louis and Buffalo. Blue-collar towns seem to be attracting a new generation of residents looking for an affordable urban lifestyle.

The Future of Detroit
The Atlantic Cities- June 12, 2012
“If you think of a place that was close to death and is now entering into a new life, that’s Detroit. Why does that happen? Well there’s great space available, there’s affordability. But cities attract different people … Detroit is a place where anything goes. It’s a place that’s open to people.”

For TxDOT, a $2 Billion “Perception Problem”
Texas Tribune- June 11, 2012
The Texas Department of Transportation, which often argues that it lacks the money to properly maintain its network of roads, surprised many state leaders in March when it announced it had an extra $2 billion.

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What it Means – House Votes on Three Transportation Proposals
Transportation Issues Daily – June 10, 2012
Last week the House had three votes related to transportation funding and policy. Here is a recap of each one.

The week ahead: Highway bill talks enter week five
The Hill’s Transportation blog – June 11, 2012
The talks in Congress about a possible new multiyear transportation are entering their fifth week.

The siren song of downtown as companies seek young tech workers
Crain’s Chicgao Business (IL) – June 11, 2012
Motorola Mobility and Sara Lee Corp. are willing to trade the suburbs for the city because workers like Nina Bieliauskas, a 37-year-old manager in Sears Holdings Corp.’s e-commerce business, live downtown and want to work there, too.

Coalition members in the news

Issaquah receives assistance to plan for long-term growth
Issaquah Press (WA) – June 9, 2012
Issaquah is receiving technical assistance to plan for long-term growth, through to a program at a nonprofit organization and a federal grant. Forterra, the former Cascade Land Conservancy, announced the technical assistance for Issaquah and other Washington communities Wednesday.

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Boehner floats 6-month US transport funding extension
Reuters- June 7, 2012
Signaling that hopes for a deal on a transportation construction bill may be fading, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on Thursday floated the idea of a six-month extension of current funding to push the issue past the November elections.

Affordable Housing Back in Play
New York Times- June 7, 2012
After a long recessionary torpor, an incentive program intended to help communities create affordable housing appears to be on the verge of revival.

Welcome to the Sunbust
Next American City- June 2012
In this story, journalist Thomas Wheatley asks what’s next for Atlanta and other Sun Belt cities grappling with similar post-boom fates. Wheatley provides thoughtful analysis of the polices and projects driving recovery in Atlanta and across the region, paying close attention to the smart growth trends reshaping the nation’s sprawl capital.

Report: Transit Fares High and Rising? Blame Bailed-Out Banks
Transportation Nation- June 7, 2012
A transit union says in a report that one cause of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s recent fare hikes and service cuts has been hiding in plain sight: financial arrangements called interest rate swaps. Those are deals the authority made with banks on 10 percent of its $33 billion of debt —deals that have gone against the authority and in favor of the banks.