National News
Obama Shoots for Political Score on Housing in SOTU
National Journal – January 24, 2012

Housing is not expected to be a major focus of Obama’s speech, as there is so little to brag about. The subject is an Achilles’ heel for the administration, which has been whipsawed with widespread criticism by such business groups as realtors, homebuilders, mortgage bankers, and investors, as well as by the consumer-advocacy community. But Obama also cannot ignore housing, an obvious sore spot in the economy. And to the extent he talks about it, Obama needs something positive and reassuring to say.

Some Bright Signs, But Housing Market Still Shaky
NPR – January 24, 2012

“Investors are probably about a third of the existing home market right now — a very important part of the market, which is very encouraging. They sense value,” he says.

Florida primary forces GOP candidates to face the dreaded housing question
Washington Post – January 24, 2012

Florida’s economy rests heavily on housing, which has struggled in the years since the bubble burst. New construction has slowed to a crawl and home prices have tumbled, sapping consumer confidence, choking tax revenue and leaving the state with one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates.

Local News

California Sues San Diego Over Emissions
Forbes – January 23, 2012

California’s Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and the Sierra Club individually announced today that they are joining a lawsuit against the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). The lawsuit challenges SANDAG’s 2050 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy and was filed in the San Diego Superior Court in November 2011 by the Cleveland National Forest Foundation and the Center for Biological Diversity.

What the Federal Government Can Learn From Metros
The Atlantic Cities – January 20, 2012

These policy and practice innovations have much to teach Washington. If history is any guide, an innovation in the states and metros today becomes a federal program or policy tomorrow. Obama’s health care reform emerged from Romney’s Massachusetts. Obama’s tri-agency Sustainable Communities Initiatives emerged from 15 years of smart growth experimentation at the state, regional and metropolitan scale. The recent Regional Innovation Clusters initiative, spearheaded by the Economic Development Administration, built upon over 20 years of cluster-focused economic development strategies implemented by states and metros throughout the United States. And so on across the entire federal government.

FAA, Surface-Transport Bills Near Votes as Lawmakers Compromise
Bloomberg – January 21, 2012

The House committee won a commitment from leaders for the full House to debate the surface-transportation bill in February. Transportation industry officials will be briefed on Jan. 26, the people said.

The Smart Way to Play God with Earth’s Limited Land
Scientific American – January 20, 2012

Human impacts on land may be much greater than is obvious at first sight. Roads, for example, appear to directly affect only a relatively small strip of land, but they also cut ecosystems in half, altering the survival prospects of species living on either side of them. With an estimated 1 million animals killed every day on America’s road network, the effect of this constant removal of predators and prey is felt over much wider areas. A seminal 2002 study of the ecological effects of a busy four-lane highway in Massachusetts found impacts – varying from wetland drainage to noise – across a broad 600-metre corridor. The consequent nationwide effects over the United States’ entire 6.2-million-kilometre road network can only be guessed at.

Documenting the New Generation of Health Problems Caused by Sprawl
The Atlantic Cities – January 20, 2012

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 connection between bad community design and burgeoning health consequences, and discusses the remedies available to fix what has become an urgent crisis.