Fancy new voting machines work pretty well if everyone knows how to use them. In much of the country, that's still a big if.

Cities hate parking decks because parking is a lousy use of downtown land. Hulking decks suck the life out of streets. Plus, a retail complex, hotel or office tower generates much more in property taxes than a parking deck. The street-killing aspect is so recognized these days that some cities require developers to put retail on the ground level of their parking structures.

Council-manager cities and strong-mayor cities aren't polar opposites anymore. Most cities have aspects of both systems.

A popular planning book praises sprawl and ignores the mess left by misguided transportation policies.

It's taken a dozen years and may take a few more as states struggle to put IT into their child welfare systems.