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The economic development and spatial impacts of high-speed rail (HSR) are quite varied and mixed. Studies of economic impacts of HSR fall into two categories: predictions and empirical observations. We first review studies that examine predicted HSR impacts related to job growth, real estate development, and other economic effects. These are followed by studies examining observed effects of realized projects using the same categories. Several patterns emerge. Predictive studies are largely optimistic of the rail's positive effects. On the other hand, observational studies tend to identify both benefits and shortfalls. Yet, neither of these patterns are universal and depend on a number of other factors. One consistent pattern is that gains associated with HSR appear to be stronger in first-tier cities. Nevertheless, certain small towns and second-tier cities have undergone noteworthy transformations as a result of HSR, especially where the public sector has actively pursued new investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Good urban design is essential if transit stations are to successfully connect to the communities that surround them. Increasingly, transit agencies in the US are constructing light rail systems in and above freeway medians to reduce land acquisition costs, minimize traffic conflicts and increase train speeds. Elevated stations, however, are difficult to physically link to surrounding communities, resulting in lost opportunities for transit-oriented development (TOD). This study examines all 14 elevated and freeway-median light rail stations along the Green and Gold lines in Los Angeles and documents the challenges of integrating them to the surrounding urban fabric. It suggests remedies based on a review of good urban design practices and interventions for different contexts that have been successful in improving station access. The study tests some of these interventions using as case studies four elevated Green Line stations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the past forty years, gay and lesbian populations have established a visible presence in many cities, but recent gentrification has put pressure on LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered) neighborhoods. This article uses a case study of the Atlanta metropolitan area to examine the effects of resurgent gentrification on LGBT neighborhoods. The study finds that rising housing values have dispersed the LGBT population, and former LGBT neighborhoods have become less tolerant of LGBT people and the businesses that anchor the LGBT community. The article considers ways that planning practice might seek to preserve LGBT-friendly neighborhoods and the people and institutions that depend on them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper critiques the proposition that way-finding strategies can be differentiated by sex. We argue that way-finding is better understood as a function of gender differences where gender is understood as a lived social relation, a product of the interaction between an embodied habitus and a particular social field. The use of survey versus landmark way-finding strategies is linked to an individual's gendered experiences of urban life. The study examines way-finding strategies from a sample of 127 gay men and lesbians from the Tallahassee, Florida metropolitan region to explore urban habitation patterns. We find that different way-finding strategies (most commonly a survey or landmark approach) are influenced by the habitus and gendered experiences of fear and anxiety in urban areas. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses suggest that individuals who perceive that their own gender presentation violates gender norms (gender dissonance) experience higher levels of social sanctions (harassment, hostility, and discrimination). In multivariate analysis, the study finds that gender-dissonant men tend to navigate using the landmark way-finding approach usually associated with women, whereas gender-dissonant women navigate using the survey way-finding approach usually associated with men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on recent developments in land use, planning and zoning law in the U.S. A very contentious issue in the land use arena these days is the increasing use of initiatives and referenda (I&R) to resolve complex policy and planning issues as well as land use disputes. Citizens are taking matters into their own hands, both at the state level and at the local level. There is even a little known movement underway to amend the U.S. Constitution to provide the opportunity for direct democracy at the national level. Special interest group favoritism. A perception persists that elected officials are unduly influenced by or defer too much to a special interest group. Public anger over not having a level playing field in the planning or decision-making process may mobilize I&R action. Public participation is the focus of many local planning processes. As more citizens become engaged in the process and invested in the outcomes, sometimes volunteering months or years of service, public expectations are raised that the plans will be implemented and not relegated to the shelf.