Inward momentum: Residential growth in American center cities

You’ve probably seen some of the anecdotal evidence in newspaper stories or other outlets recently about how many center cities have experienced a resurgence of residential growth within their borders over the last 10 to 20 years. Many of us had wondered if there had been any systematic examination of building permit trends to document … Continued

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New HUD chief on the connectedness of housing policy and sustainability

There’s an old problem in government — probably at all levels, but most notably at the federal level — of agencies working at cross purposes with each other. For example, new transportation investments in unneeded highways in exurban areas works against the EPA’s effort to reduce emissions and satisfy the Clean Air Act. Sometimes this … Continued

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Metropolitan and Rural Transportation Planning: Case Studies and Checklists for Regional Collaboration

This report by the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation and the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations provides case studies and checklists of possible actions that metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), rural transportation planning organizations (RPOs), state departments of transportation (DOTs), local government entities and other planning partners may take to enhance their partnership efforts. Case studies from Vermont, Washington and other states relate directly to how RPOs and MPOs are addressing integrated planning and livability efforts.

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Review – OVER: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point

While many of us may futilely try to verbally explain abstractions like ‘auto-dependency,’ ‘resource depletion’ or ‘density,’ aerial photographer MacLean heeds the ancient wisdom about the power of a picture. Transcending usual limits of geography and scale, he rises above and captures in rich detail those scenes we only catch brief unsatisfying glimpses of during … Continued

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