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Cityblog features daily posts from the Smarter Cities team and NRDC's Switchboard Blog.

Can Ontario deliver the continent's best land-use plan?

  I’m fond of saying that the best-conceived plan for managing growth and development in North America is the Places to Grow framework adopted by the province of Ontario, Canada.  Constructed pursuant to enabling legislation adopted by the province in... Kaid Benfield

January 26, 2012

The green dividend from reusing older buildings

  We already know that, in many cases, retaining older buildings - especially those of architectural or historic character - can strengthen the enduring legacy and enjoyment of a community.  But is it good for the environment?  Lots of people... Kaid Benfield

January 24, 2012

Reconciling cities with water scarcity

    When you look at the official US drought monitor map, you immediately see that many American cities may be in the wrong places for long-term water sustainability.  In particullar, note the presence of “long-term,” severe-to-extreme drought conditions across most... Kaid Benfield

January 23, 2012

Designing healthy communities with Dr. Richard Jackson

  A provocative new 4-hour series soon to air on public television, Designing Healthy Communities, examines the impact of our built environment on key public health indices, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, cancer and depression.  The series documents the... Kaid Benfield

January 20, 2012

A spiffy green waterfront begins to take shape in DC

   Washington, DC is finally getting a green waterfront development to be proud of.  A 42-acre redevelopment along the Anacostia River, The Yards will comprise some 1.8 million square feet of office space, 400,000 square feet of retail and cultural... Kaid Benfield

January 19, 2012

These news posts are brought to us, thanks to Planetizen, a public-interest information exchange provided by Urban Insight.

Friday Funny: Take the Kids to Napoleonland

A new theme park dedicated to all things Napoleon has been proposed for the area south of Paris by former French minister and history buff Yves Jégo, and is being touted as a rival to Disneyland, reports Henry Samuel.

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January 27, 2012

What's Wrong With America's Streets - And How To Fix Them

Ben Goldman reports on a new illustrative guide, Sustainable Street Network Principles, published by the Congress for New Urbanism, that seeks to educate planners and officials on how to create successful streets and neighborhoods.

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January 27, 2012

Green Building Trends To Watch in 2012

Claire Easley talks with the "godfather of green," Jerry Yudelson, about the "megatrends" to watch for in the Green Building industry over the next year.

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January 27, 2012

Next Step in California Redevelopment Saga: More Lawsuits

In an effort to seek an 11th hour reprieve from the scheduled elimination of the state's redevelopment agencies, two consortiums of cities have filed lawsuits in Sacramento Superior Court, reports Josh Stephens.

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January 27, 2012

There are 4,114 Intersections in LA, and He Controls Them All

Jon Bruner profiles Los Angeles Department of Transportation Engineer Edward Yu, and the ATSAC system run by Yu and his team, which controls the timing of traffic lights at each of the city's 4,114 intersections.

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January 27, 2012

These posts are yours, our street beat reporters, filled with news, images and ideas from your city.

Craving Cabbage

I could have spent this past weekend, which was unseasonably warm and gloriously sunny, finishing the chore that never ends: garden clean up. Instead, I hiked every day in a nearby conservation area (safer than the state parks I usually frequent with my dogs and kids: it's hunting season in New York, and orange-clad or not, I prefer not to take chances).

I wasn't totally avoiding the garden, though. In between...

November 28, 2011

Hope and Cilantro Spring Eternal

The garden is nearly done, but still giving. Brussels sprouts and kale are still producing. The garlic is finally all planted, and on the dewy, sunny morning that I’m writing, the whole garden smells faintly of it (which I hope doesn’t mean it’s rotting, thanks to a few days of unseasonably warm weather. Yes, after the Halloween blizzard. Go figure.)

I went out this weekend to finish pulling and composting the remaining plants and harvest the last of...

November 23, 2011

New Satellite Photos Reveal Vast Extent of Lake Erie's Toxic Algae

In August, OnEarth ran a shocking article by Barry Yeoman about the spread of blue-green algae that is threatening to choke the life out of Lake Erie. It's an informative and truly sobering account of how the most fertile of Great Lakes was brought back from the brink in the early 1970s, only to be threatened once again by oxygen-devoid dead zones and invasive species.

This month,...

October 30, 2011

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