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There's an important debate taking place right now, as you know, about what will happen to the suburbs and particularly the more distant exurbs when economic conditions and the real estate market pick up a little more. On one side are the suburbanists, such as Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox, who believe that the march of the affluent to distant locations will simply continue, and we will be building more subdivisions 30 and 40 miles out from the cities. Then there are the urbanists, such as Christopher Leinberger, who argue that the Great Recession marks a demographic turning point, and communities far from the urban center are going to be much less attractive to the next generation of affluent homebuyers.

For the purposes of the Mayors Challenge, a great idea is one that shows bold and innovative thinking, a solid strategy for implementation, and the potential to generate measurable impact not just in your city, but in other cities, too. These ideas can either be visionary, back-of-the-napkin ideas, or things you've started (or started developing) that you now will take to completely new levels. The Mayors Challenge aims to encourage you to take an idea and make it bigger, better, and more impactful - to innovate! If you're looking for an award for something you've already done, this challenge is not for you.

The Project for Public Spaces offers this checklist to help determine if your city is a "great" city. "Community goals are a top priority in city planning: - Citizens regularly participate in making their public spaces better and local leaders and planning professionals routinely seek the wisdom and practical experience of community residents. - Residents feel they have responsibility and a sense of ownership for their public spaces."

Surely, people could be empowered to share and exchange their opinions, particularly if they knew their views would be taken seriously and result in better services, better products and better facilities for themselves, their family, and their friends. In a nutshell, people could become real 'communities of influence'. Imagine the savings, imagine the efficiencies, and imagine the returns. Couldn't greater gains also be made if the providers and commissioners of services were prepared to work together? Rather than feeling uncomfortable about sharing information, why not make collaboration the norm.

AMERICAN employment put in a respectable performance in July. Non-farm payrolls rose 117,000, or 0.1%, and the unemployment rate edged lower to 9.1% from 9.2%, both better, but not dramatically so, than Wall Street had expected.

investigating the relationship between urban form and energy use in China

Code for America enlists the talent of the web industry into public service to use their skills to solve core problems facing our communities. We help passionate technologists leverage the power of the internet to make governments more open and efficient, and become civic leaders able to realize transformational change with technology.

If you work in public engagement, conflict resolution and community building, the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation is a great place to connect with professionals who share your interests, and to stay on top of news and goings-on in the field.

An ideal complete streets policy: Includes a vision for how and why the community wants to complete its streets Specifies that 'all users' includes pedestrians, bicyclists and transit passengers of all ages and abilities, as well as trucks, buses and automobiles. Applies to both new and retrofit projects, including design, planning, maintenance, and operations, for the entire right of way. Makes any exceptions specific and sets a clear procedure that requires high-level approval of exceptions. Encourages street connectivity and aims to create a comprehensive, integrated, connected network for all modes. Is adoptable by all agencies to cover all roads. Directs the use of the latest and best design criteria and guidelines while recognizing the need for flexibility in balancing user needs. Directs that complete streets solutions will complement the context of the community. Establishes performance standards with measurable outcomes. Includes specific next steps for implementation of the policy

Transportation Alternatives is your advocate for bicycling, walking and public transit in New York City.

Transportation Alternatives is involved in every aspect of traveling around New York City. From bike routes and bus lanes to pedestrian crossings and car parking, we're fighting for safer, smarter transportation and a healthier city.

LACBC engages in a wide variety of policy, advocacy, education, and community building work to make the streets of Los Angeles County more bike friendly for all types of cyclists! We engage through our advocacy with the City of Los Angeles' Bike Plan Implementation, Spanish language education and bike repair through City of Lights, policy work in Glendale, Culver City, the South Bay, and Long Beach, amongst other cities, and community building through the River Ride and our Sunday Funday monthly member rides.

Welcome to We the People on WhiteHouse.gov. This tool provides you with a new way to petition the Obama Administration to take action on a range of important issues facing our country. If a petition gets enough support, White House staff will review it, ensure it's sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response.

the U.S. Economic Development Administration sponsored this project to develop new tools to support strategic economic development planning in rural regions. The goal of this work is to help rural planners assess their region's comparative strengths and weaknesses with respect to fostering innovation-based growth. The project's data and tools, however, can be used equally well in any type of region-urban, exurban, metropolitan or custom-based depending upon need and purpose.

Knight Soul of the Community is a new approach to community development and local economic growth, based on a three-year study produced by Gallup in partnership with John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

What's Next California is an unprecedented attempt to bring the people into the process in a new way-one that is representative and thoughtful. A scientific random sample of the entire state will be transported to a single place for a weekend of face-to-face discussions, in small groups and in dialogue with competing experts.

What's Next California is an unprecedented attempt to bring the people into the process in a new way-one that is representative and thoughtful. A scientific random sample of the entire state will be transported to a single place for a weekend of face-to-face discussions, in small groups and in dialogue with competing experts. In California's first statewide "Deliberative Poll," the people will be supported by factual information and will consider the critical arguments on both sides of issues, then will articulate their priorities for fixing the state.

The Hamilton Project seeks to advance America's promise of opportunity, prosperity, and growth. The Project's economic strategy reflects a judgment that long-term prosperity is best achieved by fostering economic growth and broad participation in that growth, by enhancing individual economic security, and by embracing a role for effective government in making needed public investments. We believe that today's increasingly competitive global economy requires public policy ideas commensurate with the challenges of the 21st Century. Our strategy calls for combining increased public investments in key growth-enhancing areas, a secure social safety net, and fiscal discipline. In that framework, the Project puts forward innovative proposals from leading economic thinkers-based on credible evidence and experience, not ideology or doctrine to introduce new and effective policy options into the national debate.

In today's economy, successful communities are creating transportation systems that can do the job of moving people and goods while simultaneously improving the quality and character of their town. They recognize that building a strong and more vibrant economy relies on expanding mobility choices. In short, great communities have great transportation systems.

The debategraph on the Core Principles for Dialogue & Deliberation can also be found at http://debategraph.org/flash/fv.aspx?r=16220. You can learn more about the Principles and the process we used to create them at www.ncdd.org/pep.