Michael Dudley

<p>Thanks to oil and gas development, the cities in the once-sleepy Canadian province of Saskatchewan are now facing a construction boom.</p>

<p>James Howard Kunstler attends the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO) and finds downtown Houston a "ghastly" environment that shows that even without zoning a city can achieve "miserable" results.</p>

<p>Cairo has one of the most severe air pollution problems in the world. Now efforts are underway to clean up the source of much of this pollution, the brick manufacturing industry.</p>

<p>An urban renaissance is underway in many American cities, one fueled by the "common sense" of focusing on fundamentals. Canadian cities are looking south to pick up some good ideas.</p>

<p>This past April, agencies responsible for fire prevention in the San Diego area were warning the Bush Administration not to cut funding for deadwood removal, saying it was only a matter of time before another major fire.</p>