A new bill passed by the Australian Parliament appears at first to offer protection to environmentally sensitive lands is actually little more than a carbon-trading system for land that helps development on sensitive lands overstep environmental review.
"The Threatened Species Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Banking) Bill, flicked through by Parliament last month, pretends to assist biodiversity by applying a carbon trading model. In fact, like carbon trading, it amounts to little more than a purchasable license to destroy, without even an eco-assessment of the land in question."
"It's an attractive idea. Attractive to politicians, since it cloaks developer appeasement in greenwrap. Attractive to developers, in allowing low-grade inland to be conserved while top-dollar coastal paradise is developed. And attractive to a concerned public, in trusting the market to conserve high-value environments even as it commodifies them."
FULL STORY: Don't bank on this phoney fix
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
