First, it was the joys of less stuff.  Are we evolving now to the joys of less space?

There is something I love about this true story from a young Vancouver family of four living in a 950 square foot condo.  Having grown up in a two bedroom house and… more

SPUR, the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, is being celebrated as "the city's premier think tank" upon the opening of its new, very public building on Mission in the heart of San Francisco.  Its aspiration is to the be the public hub of planning and policy… more

Found this good news item in my Inbox today from the Midwest High Speed Rail Association:

US transport boss rides Spanish bullet train

"Spain showed off its bullet train system on Friday, giving the U.S. transportation secretary a… more

Walking San Francisco's neighborhoods this week, I was reminded of the many contributions of the corner store.  Take Tartine, for instance, in the Mission District.  This tiny bakery gives the neighborhood a place to gather, a focal point, a destination.  (All of these attributes are augmented by its several outdoor… more

Traveling around San Francisco over the weekend, I noticed that every cool coffee shop was surrounded by babies and strollers.  (And many of the strollers were doubles.)  Surely, urban leaders are seeing this new baby boom and planning to keep these young families in their cities, right? 

Wrong, according to… more

After columnist George Will went after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's new initiatives, LaHood comes back with a zinger delivered at the National Press Club:  “We have to create opportunities for people who want to ride a bike or walk or take a streetcar,” he said. “The only person that I’ve… more

That's the headline on a piece from MSNBC.  When I started working to redevelop downtown Memphis in the mid-70s, a headline like that was unthinkable. And yet, there it is.

To quote from the article, "Most demographic and market indicators suggest that growth and development across the country are… more

You have to love this idea.  Reconnecting America is staging a 1400-mile rolling salon on the California Zephyr from San Francisco to Denver, site of CNU's annual gathering.  Robert Davis, visionary founder and developer of Seaside, Florida (and all around nice guy), will be a featured host… more

You have to see these (especially if, like me, you stand on an open el platform in Chicago winters).

Yeow.  $40 billion is a lot of money for too many potato chips (see my weakness) and too many sugary drinks.  New York Times columnist David Leonhardt asked Rand to estimate how much money obesity costs the federal government in Medicare and Medicaid.  And yes, their answer was $40… more

I love everything about this story in New York Magazine on Janette Sadik-Khan, New York City's Transportation commissioner, who is transforming big chunks of Broadway into pedestrian spaces.  Borrowing ideas from Copenhagen and cities around the world, Sadik-Khan has a vision of turning the great diagonal into a linear… more

If the world is so flat, then why are cities growing so quickly, especially in the third world?  That's the question Harvard economist Ed Glaeser attempts to answer in this NYT blog.  Growing cities are no accident, Glaeser writes. "Globalization and new technologies attract people to big cities, by… more

Pointing out the obvious, the Wall Street Journal reports that cities with plentiful affordable housing are missing one important ingredient:  jobs.  Check. Housing is typically affordable when it is plentiful and there is not enough demand. 

High-end travel apparently needs to "mean" something today.  At least, that's what Ann Mack, director of trend spotting at JWT, told the NYT.  Seems that wealthy travelers are too embarrassed to indulge in hedonistic mindlessness.  Instead, they are pursuing "cultural sojourns" to compensate for their profligate spending.  "It's not about… more

The results of the annual 2008 U-Haul National Migration Trend Report, titled "The 2008 Top 50 U.S. Destination Cities," are out and worth noting.

Top destinations are, in order, Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, Portland, Chicago, San Antonio, Austin, Orlando.
 
The ranking reflects destinations for movers traveling… more

While the closing of nearly 2,000 car dealerships across the country likely does not scream "opportunity" to many, this article in The Daily Green may change your mind.  Through creative reuse these closed properties could become assets for their communities.  As the American culture moves away from its… more

The Washington Post is inviting readers to put on their mayor's hat and grapple with balancing the Capital City's budget in the midst of a $591 million budget shortfall with an interactive city budgeting tool.  Do you increase taxes?  If so, where?  Where can you cut spending? Can you balance… more

Glenn  Croston says our new savings rate is a sign that Americans are transitioning to a Conserver Economy in which people and businesses save more, waste less, and think of the long term.  He says businesses can… more

Do you know Paju Bookcity?  I didn't until I found Dana Cho's lovely blog, Goodspace, devoted to design and innovation. 

Am I the only one who would think I had died and gone to heaven if I lived in Bookcity?  Ok, maybe it's close to a theme park… more

The President has his man to run the National Endowment for the Arts.  The New York Times reports that  Rocco Landesman, the colorful theatrical producer and race-track aficionado who brought hits like “Big River,” “Angels in America” and “The Producers” to Broadway, has… more

Residents of Vauban, Germany, "are suburban pioneers, going where few soccer moms or commuting executives have ever gone before: they have given up their cars."  Cars are forbidden on most of Vauban's streets, and houses cannot have driveways or garages.