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RESULTS		Results 26 – 50 of 1204
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Headline	Author	Published	Section
The Road to Recovery Commuting can drive you crazy -- no, literally		09 Jun 2008	News
Posted at 3:04 PM on 09 Jun 2008 Think your commute drives you crazy? Well, you might be right. In a culture so accustomed to being on-the-go, sitting immobile in traffic for hours each day can take a toll on mental health, researchers say. "If you're stuck in traffic, there's a feeling of being out of control," says psychologist Laura Pinegar, who says she's hearing more and more complaints of traffic anxiety in her ...
Topics: cars, green living, insanity, news, placemaking (all these topics)

Richer, greener Focusing population growth in the right places will make us both	Ryan Avent	09 Jun 2008	Gristmill
The New York Times looks at the impact of high gas prices in communities across the nation today and concludes that increases are most painful in rural areas. Part of this analysis involves an examination of money spent on gas as a share of total income. The big middle of the country does badly, and Appalachia and the deep South do very badly. We can explain some of the excessive spending on fuel in these places by noting their dependence on trucks and the lack of ...
Topics: environmental justice, gas prices, placemaking, public transportation, urban planning, Washington DC (all these topics)

The Missing Links Public transit ridership is up, but no one's talking about a better system	Ryan Avent	06 Jun 2008	Grist Feature
But how long will they wait for infrastructure improvements? Photo: Sharat Ganapati One year ago, as America prepared for the traditional summer-driving crush, op-ed pages nationwide fretted over a disturbing trend. Only a decade earlier, oil had plumbed depths near $10 per barrel, and dirt-cheap gas had allowed us to roll over the nation's blacktop in vehicles of monster-truck ...
Topics: green living, placemaking, politics, public transportation, sprawl, urban planning (all these topics)

For all the world to see California launches database of green state buildings	Katharine Wroth	06 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Some day I'll stop being surprised at the eco-dreaminess of California. But for now, I'm still tickled by even relatively minor developments -- say, the creation of the country's first statewide map of government-run green buildings. Sites are color-coded (and searchable) by whether they've achieved LEED certification, are pursuing it, or are being 'retro-commissioned.' And yeah, OK, it's basically a Google map and a self-delivered pat on the back, but it represents ...
Topics: California, green building, placemaking (all these topics)

Car culture on the skids USA Today: oil prices drive up asphalt costs, derail road maintenance	Tom Philpott	06 Jun 2008	Gristmill
For decades, public cash has gushed into building infrastructure designed to get us around in those little (or not-so-little) privatized pods. Indeed, the mobilization to create and maintain our road and highway network probably counts as our greatest public achievement of the last half-century. Meanwhile, while the highway rode high, our rail-transportation network crashed. Attacked and defunded by politicians and rejected by the public, Amtrak lurches on, barely. It's ...
Topics: gas prices, oil, placemaking, public transportation, urban planning (all these topics)

Great Scoot! Scooter ridership zooms as gas prices rise		03 Jun 2008	News
Posted at 4:21 PM on 03 Jun 2008 For reasons both environment- and wallet-related, motor scooter ridership is zooming (along with transit and bike ridership, natch). Between 1997 and 2007, annual sales of new scooters jumped from 12,000 to 131,000. Scooter sales in the first three months of 2008 were up 24 percent over the same time period last year, and sellers are having trouble keeping scooters in stock. But engine-powered two-wheelers ...
Topics: gas prices, news, placemaking (all these topics)

Train of thought Rail and the coming changes in transport	Erik Hoffner	03 Jun 2008	Gristmill
National Train Day was marked this year on May 10, so it's not too incredibly late to mention two new books of note: John Stilgoe's Train Time: Railroads and the Imminent Reshaping of the United States Landscape that came out in the fall says that rail is 'an economic and cultural tsunami about to transform the United States.' Maybe that's a little grand, but rail is definitely on the ascendancy, since it can move people and freight at a fraction of the energy usage vs. ...
Topics: books, energy, holiday, oil, placemaking, public transportation (all these topics)

Trailer of Tears Toxic trailers will be used again if need be, says FEMA		03 Jun 2008	News
Posted at 2:55 PM on 03 Jun 2008 The Federal Emergency Management Agency has promised it will never again use formaldehyde-tainted trailers to house victims of a natural disaster -- unless, of course, it does. In a draft disaster housing report, the agency said it would use the trailers if need be, though as a last resort, and for no longer than six months. Some 500 families made homeless in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina are s ...
Topics: health, news, placemaking, severe weather (all these topics)

Globalization death watch, Part I Airlines, cargo ships increasingly desperate due to rising fuel costs	Jon Rynn	02 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Globalization was built on cheap oil. As that era draws to a close, so will the current phase of global integration, whether Thomas Friedman, Wal-Mart, and all those involved in intercontinental trade like it or not. The current transportation infrastructure is based on cars, trucks, airplanes, and cargo ships, which together consume about 70 percent of the gasoline used in the United States. While the greatest focus has been on cars, trucking and airline companies are ...
Topics: air travel, economy, energy, gas prices, oil, placemaking (all these topics)

Vertical farms and future cities Sustainability a big theme at the World Science Festival	Maywa Montenegro	02 Jun 2008	Gristmill
What do vertical farms, green roofs, soft cars, breathing walls, and Dongtan, China, have in common? They were all subjects of discussion at Friday's Future Cities event in New York City, part of the four-day 2008 World Science Festival. To a packed house, Columbia University microbiologist Dickson Despommier described his vision for feeding the planet's burgeoning, and increasingly urban, population. The vertical farm takes agriculture and stacks it into the tie ...
Topics: food, innovation, local food, placemaking, tech, urban planning (all these topics)

When Casual Friday Means Pajamas More employees encouraged to telecommute, work short weeks		30 May 2008	News
Posted at 3:20 PM on 30 May 2008 Employers across the country are offering workers the option to telecommute or work a four-day week to help cut down on fuel costs. Compressed work weeks are particularly attractive to employees who work in places without reliable mass transit -- especially since a 10-hour day can mean coming in early and leaving late enough to avoid rush hour traffic. As an added bonus, ...
Topics: green living, news, placemaking (all these topics)

Muddy footprints What a ranking of cities can tell us -- and what it can't	Eric de Place	30 May 2008	Gristmill
There's a big carbon footprint report out yesterday from Brookings. It ranks cities [PDF] according to their per capita carbon emissions. Sort of, anyway. Before I pick on it a little, I guess I should mention that Pacific Northwest cities do exceptionally well. Out of the 100 cities in the analysis, Portland ranks 3rd, Boise is 5th, and Seattle 6th. There's very little difference between them. That's wonderful and all, but the analysis only covers about 50 pe ...
Topics: climate, ecological footprint, greenhouse-gas emissions, placemaking, public transportation, Seattle (all these topics)

Metro Effectual City residents emit less CO2, study says		29 May 2008	News
Posted at 6:58 AM on 29 May 2008 Residents of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States emit less carbon dioxide pollution per capita than the U.S. average, according to a new study. The Brookings Institution analyzed data on household and transportation energy use and found that the average U.S. resident was responsible for about 2.87 tons of carbon pollution a year, but that residents of the U.S.'s 100 largest metro areas ...
Topics: green living, news, placemaking, United States, urban planning (all these topics)

Notable quotable Yes we can! (ride bikes)	David Roberts	22 May 2008	Gristmill
'It's time that the entire country learn from what's happening right here in Portland with mass transit and bicycle lanes and funding alternative means of transportation. That's the kind of solution that we need for America.' -- Barack Obama, speaking to a rally in Portland, Ore., where an estimated 8,000 out of 75,000 attendees arrived on bikes (via Streetsblog)
Topics: Barack Obama, bikes, placemaking, politics, Portland, public transportation (all these topics)

Surely there must be some mistake	David Roberts	20 May 2008	Gristmill
Branch of U.S. federal government accidentally passes bill that would provide $1.7 billion in grant funding for public transit.
Topics: brilliance, legislation, placemaking, politics, public transportation (all these topics)

He doesn't say so explicitly ...	David Roberts	19 May 2008	Gristmill
... but this Paul Krugman column is about placemaking. On that note, don't miss our Smart(ish) Cities series.
Topics: placemaking, public transportation (all these topics)

It's Also National Pizza Party Day Greens celebrate two holidays today		16 May 2008	News
Posted at 2:03 PM on 16 May 2008 If you saw a tiger riding a two-wheeler to the office this morning, that's because it's Endangered Species Bike to Work Day. Wait, wait, we're getting a memo -- oh, actually, it's both Endangered Species Day and Bike to Work Day. (Then what the hell was that tiger doing?) In honor of Bike to Work Day, bicyclists in many cities picked up free swag along their commute routes this morning. In ho ...
Topics: bikes, endangered species, holiday, news, placemaking, wildlife, World Wildlife Fund (all these topics)

Your Cities, Yourselves Smart-growth advocates offer tips for changing your neck of the woods		16 May 2008	Grist Feature
This week we've profiled several cities that are changing the way their residents live, work, and get around -- all with an eye toward fighting climate change and building a more sustainable future. So what can you do if your community hasn't seen the light? We asked our sources for advice, and here's what they had to say. Kimber Lanning. "Buy local whenever possible. Whether you're hir ...
Topics: advice, grassroots activism, green building, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, urban planning (all these topics)

Urban Legends Smart(ish) Cities series ends, sustainability efforts march on	Lisa Selin Davis	16 May 2008	Grist Feature
By now, you may have forgotten that Portland was ever crowned the Miss Universe of Sustainability, and have started packing up your bicycles and solar panels for the big move to Syracuse or Tampa. OK, maybe you're not thinking of uprooting yourself and your family. More likely, you're evaluating your own city to figure out what green things it's got going for it, where it lags behind, ...
Topics: environmental justice, green building, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, sprawl, urban planning (all these topics)

Where Many Have Gone Before Prius sales top 1 million		15 May 2008	News
Posted at 3:17 PM on 15 May 2008 Worldwide sales of Toyota's Prius hybrid have passed the 1 million mark, the auto company announced Thursday. The world's first mass-produced hybrid was introduced in Japan in 1997 and in other markets in 2000. While it was at the time a risky business venture, it didn't take long for the word Prius -- Latin for "to go before" -- to become synonymous with popular hybrid technology (and yuppie enviro ...
Topics: Big Auto, cars, green living, hybrids, news, placemaking, Prius (all these topics)

Shinier, Happier People How three Rust Belt cities are changing		15 May 2008	Grist Feature
For more on Rust Belt cities, see our full feature on sustainability initiatives underway in Cleveland. It may not be intuitive to link an area historically associated with steel mills, coal mining, and automobile assembly lines to sustainable development. But green growth is catching on in the Rust Belt, long an economically unendowed area of the country -- and its manufacturing-heavy past is coming in handy in emerging ...
Topics: green building, New York, Pennsylvania, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, urban planning, Wisconsin (all these topics)

Those About to Rock Can Cleveland bring itself back from the brink?	Kristine Hansen	15 May 2008	Grist Feature
Still known for smokestacks and football, Cleveland is turning its ship around. Photo: Craig Hatfield "Most people know Cleveland by the Browns or The Flats," says Marc Lefkowitz. From the roof of his office building, which is dotted with native wildflowers and grasses, he gestures to the downtown skyline -- marked by the iconic Mittal Steel smokestacks that gave The Flats neighborhood it ...
Topics: green building, Ohio, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, urban planning (all these topics)

Outer Limits Sprawling Atlanta seeks new routes to the future	Robert DiGiacomo	14 May 2008	Grist Feature
The City in the Forest hopes to get back to its roots. Despite its reputation as a city of wall-to-wall subdivisions, office complexes, and shopping centers, Atlanta's not a complete stranger to matters of green. At the time of its mid-19th century founding, in the woods at the end of a railroad line, it was called the "City in the Forest." And in the early 20th century, the city created the 1 ...
Topics: Georgia, green building, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, sprawl, urban planning (all these topics)

A Moment in the Sun How three Southeast cities are changing		14 May 2008	Grist Feature
For more on Southeast cities, see our full feature on sustainability initiatives underway in Atlanta. With rapid population growth and increased climate vulnerability, the Southeastern U.S. would seem a prime place for sustainability initiatives. But the area has been slow to cotton on to the greening trend. We chalk it up to the South's shade-shifting toward red in the last fifty years -- aligning with a party that was, unt ...
Topics: climate, Florida, green building, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, Tennessee, urban planning, Virginia (all these topics)

Dry, Dry Again How three Southwestern cities are changing		13 May 2008	Grist Feature
For more on Southwest cities see our full feature on sustainability initiatives underway in Phoenix. Scan any list of "green U.S. cities" for winners from the Southwest, and you'll find a geographical void. Sure, a liberal-leaning place like Austin or Santa Fe or Boulder might sneak onto the list, but in general, there's a dearth of entries from this sun-drenched region. And that's troubling, as Southwest cities tend ...
Topics: green building, Nevada, New Mexico, placemaking, Smartish Cities, special series, sprawl, Texas, urban planning (all these topics)

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