- Our Ugly Buildings Are Here to Stay
San Francisco Gate Architecture is wound so tightly into our lives that for a building to be truly repulsive, it must offend us again and again and again. (December 2)
- Study Finds Pedestrians At Risk on Nation's Streets
Washington Post Walkers are far more likely to be killed in street accidents than are motorists, according to a report on pedestrian safety released yesterday. (December 3)
- Western Sydney Gets $45m Park
Nine MSN A $45 million parkland for Sydney, Australia’s western suburbs would be the lungs of the area. (December 4)
- Debate Over Trans-Texas Corridor Plan
Time Magazine Opposition is growing to Texas Governor Rick Perry's proposal for a 4,000-mile network of quarter-mile-wide multimodal corridors for transporting goods, people and utilities. (December 6)
- New Farmers Market in Soledad, CA
The Salinas Californian Vendors will sell fresh vegetables, fruits and baked goods as the first Certified Farmers Market sets up in Old Town Soledad, CA, on Dec. 12. (December 6)
- Overhaul of Ann Arbor Farmers Market Rejected by Advisory Commission
Ann Arbor News Commissioners cited concerns with funding the $924,000 project that the city council will vote on later in December. (December 8)
- Could Making Roads Seem More Dangerous Actually Make Them Safer?
Wired A new breed of traffic engineers has developed a radically counterintuitive apprach: build roads that seem dangerous, and they'll be safer. (December 2004)
- Plan to Widen Road Angers Residents in Waynesville, NC
Smokey Mountain News A plan by the Department of Transportation to widen and straighten Plott Creek Road on the outskirts of Waynesville has angered residents of the area as well as some town leaders who say the plan is ill-conceived and was developed without public input. (December 15)
- Black Youths Are Being Targeted To Take Up Farming
Fresno Bee African-American Farmers of California has stepped up its outreach to younger people by offering college scholarships and hands-on training aimed at pointing the way to making a career of growing the produce that finds its way into farmers markets, stores and restaurants in Los Angeles and Oakland. (December 15)
- In Paris, a Cautious New Vision for Les Halles
New York Times The old market district of Les Halles suffered a disastrous makeover in the 70’s. Now the mayor of Paris has chosen to pursue “an urban concept” in a fresh attempt to rescue the 15-acre zone. (December 16)
- Atlanta Transit Loop is a Vision in Green
Atlanta Journal-Constitution A report by the Trust for Public Land knits together a nascent proposal for a 22-mile transit loop through 46 historic Atlanta neighborhoods with an ambitious blueprint for a 23-mile bike trail, 1,400 acres of new parks and billions of dollars' worth of development reaching into the city's most economically starved areas. (December 19)
- Local Shops an Antidote to Big-Box Economy
Star Tribune Jay Walljasper advises readers to support local merchants this holiday shopping season. (December 21)
- Library Gets a Warm Welcome in South Los Angeles
LA Times Hundreds crowd the opening of the Hyde Park branch, the latest product of LA’s $278-million improvement plan. (December 21)
- North Carolina Triangle 'Must Do Something Beyond Cars'
New Observer As congestion becomes unbearable, what will it take for residents of North Carolina's sprawling Triangle to consider public transit? (December 23)
- Biggest Change In Forest Policy In Three Decades
Washington Post New Bush administration rules relax environmental protections, reduce public participation, and allow managers more discretion is opening forests to mining and logging. (December 23)
