Megapolitan growth in the intermountain West
The new Brookings study profiles the front range, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, northern New Mexico, and the merging of Phoenix and Tucson. These "megapolitan" regions, home to 80% of the region's population, are projected to DOUBLE in population and jobs between 2005 and 2040.
Decline of Suburbs not just about oil
Richard Florida, author of the Creative Class, asserts that cities are more popular not just because gas prices make commuting less attractive, but because fundamental economic changes make urban proximity more attractive than it's been in centuries.
The wage gap and the gas gap
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich blogs on how the price of gas is exacerbating our wealth distribution problem. Poorer Americans who live far-flung from urban centers find themselves even poorer as their commute costs more and more. But the solution for both people and the environment (contrary to some people's views, they go together) - improving public transit - is being cut as budgets tighten. 20% of public transit agencies surveyed last month reported cuts.
Our shifting geography
It depends who you ask. Christopher Leinberger, a Brookings Institute fellow, thinks the country's subprime mortgage crisis will send suburbs into a period of decline, while Joel Kotkin, the editor of newgeography, predicts it's cities that will suffer as a result of high gas prices.
As gas prices rise, Blueprint planning seen as model
The Wall Street Journal reports on how Sacramento's regional Blueprint planning process, which promotes urban density and smart growth, has gained the support of residents and developers as gas prices have continued to climb. The Blueprint process has been proposed as a model for how to implement some of the land use measures under AB 32.
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