Wanna make $1 billion? If you are "qualified sources to design and implement a social and economic stabilization program impacting ten Strategic Cities, identified by the United States Government as critical to the defeat of the Insurgency in Iraq" go to Fedgrants (This should be in the jobs... View full entry

Not to be outpaved by China, India "has begun a 15-year project to widen and pave some 40,000 miles of narrow, decrepit national highways, with the first leg, budgeted at $6.25 billion, to be largely complete by next year. It amounts to the most ambitious infrastructure project since independence... View full entry

Independent investigator Gideon Vitkon has issued a report which calls for the support of the controversial "Safdie Plan" for West J'lem, after investigating a mountain of opposition from a coalition of environmental and political groups. Opposition to the plan says the report is ambiguous but... View full entry

living room or bedroom as traffic-calming device..."creative ways to reduce traffic speed." BBC | via View full entry

In what is being called "the largest eminent-domain case in the nation," the town of Riviera Beach, FL wants to displace 6,000 residents and raze their homes for a bunch of yachts. LATimes (via). Also there's an ethical + utilitarian critique of eminent domain practices that links them to failed... View full entry

Three months after Katrina, "there are fears for the long-term social consequences of the wave of construction that has seen 'trailer towns' springing up all along the Gulf Coast." BBC. View full entry

"Amid all the arguments over how to rebuild this pummeled city, there is one universally held article of faith here: New Orleans must have a flood protection system strong enough to withstand Category 5 storms, the worst that nature can spawn." But can anyone afford to built such a system? NYT. View full entry

The NYT takes a look at the debate around the Gowanus Canal, where residents have grouped together to take a stand against gentrification in their old industrial enclave, hoping to protect the docks, warehouses, working-class row houses, and all the old factories from being converted into... View full entry

Are SF planners really supposed to feel lucky that the next big one to hit is expected in the next 30 years, and because with all of its destruction it will give the city a chance to start fresh again? That seems to be the sentiment from other cities around the country, wishing they could find... View full entry

For centuries, human beings have been reinventing the gate. Exclusive gated communities that shield mansions with walls, hedges and uniformed security guards may seem like a modern phenomenon. But the notion of rich people living in protected areas is not a recent idea. There were castles in the... View full entry

A new exhibit shows the public what the new Durango will be like after Zaha and Co take over. RoboTranslated version with images of the show View full entry

"La crise des banlieues turns out to be an ambiguous phrase. Is there a problem in France's suburbs or with France's suburbs?" nytimes | previous View full entry

The Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal will be distributing free copies of their manual, "A Pattern Book for Gulf Coast Neighborhoods." Planned by The Congress for New Urbanism and promoted by Mississippi Governor Barbour, the manual will advocate "old-fashioned ways of building... View full entry

The Chinese city of Harbin has had its water supply cut off by the cities authorities after an explosion at a chemical plant upriver contaminated the water supply with toxic material. The city has a population of 9 million people and is currently in its peak tourist season. Link View full entry

Gabion : "Living in a city of ever-present ghosts, as London is - a city scarred by past and present violence but also blessed with almost mystical regenerative powers - is to acknowledge the power of what some might see as imperfection. It is not imperfection. It is part of the endless... View full entry