Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Urban Planning

Report: Real Estate Interests Spent $5.5M on Transport Lobbying in 2009

By Elana Schor | Mar 11, 2010 | No Comments

In the debate over how — and whether — to set measurable performance standards for determining where federal transportation money gets spent, real estate developers are a quiet but powerful player. In a report released today, the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) tracked the broad reach of land-use interests and found more than 100 groups […]

U.S. DOT Cagey on Funding New Transport Bill as Senators Seek Solutions

By Elana Schor | Mar 11, 2010 | 3 Comments

Senators began searching today for new strategies to connect local planners with an ever-dwindling pot of federal infrastructure dollars, even as a senior U.S. DOT aide declined to say whether the White House’s upcoming principles for the next long-term transportation bill would include funding specifics. Antonio Villaraigosa is seeking a bridge loan from Washington to […]

New House Jobs Bill Dominated by Direct Aid to Cities

By Elana Schor | Mar 11, 2010 | No Comments

Soon after the Senate signed off yesterday on a $150 billion package of tax extenders and unemployment benefits that was promoted as a job-creation measure — a bill that lacked dedicated new funding for transportation — Democrats on the House education and labor committee were releasing their own jobs legislation. The House proposal also lacks […]

Report: Obama’s 2011 Budget Leaves Cities in a Fiscal Hole of $16B-Plus

By Elana Schor | Feb 25, 2010 | No Comments

(Chart: National League of Cities) The White House’s proposed budget for 2011 would direct $2.8 billion to its biggest-ticket urban aid programs, even as American city governments face estimated budget shortfalls of at least $19 billion next year, according to a report released today by the nonpartisan Drum Major Institute (DMI). The report compares urban […]

New Analysis: Major Cities Still Shortchanged by Transportation Stimulus

By Elana Schor | Feb 19, 2010 | No Comments

The Obama administration’s awarding of $1.5 billion in competitive transportation stimulus grants on Wednesday sparked elation in cities such as Kansas City and New Orleans. But those celebrations were more than just anecdotal evidence of the so-called TIGER program‘s urban impact, according to a new analysis from the Brookings Institution’s Rob Puentes. (Chart: The Avenue) […]

EPA and HUD Make Big Investments in Sustainable Development

By Elana Schor | Feb 8, 2010 | No Comments

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are making significant progress on their joint effort, with the U.S. DOT, to connect cleaner transportation options with affordable housing and denser urban development. A future commuter rail station along Boston’s Fairmount Line, one of five areas selected for EPA sustainable […]

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