This piece from The Chronicle of Higher Education looks at the role design plays in encouraging interaction amongst academics and calls out for better planning.
"Over the past decade, we've heard a great deal about the benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration on college campuses. Institutional policies now reward the 'teaming' of formerly isolated disciplines in both teaching and research. Medical education, for example, increasingly includes courses in the humanities, and behavioral, social, and physical scientists increasingly work together in public-health research. In response, planners and designers have been asked to develop buildings that encourage interaction."
"[R]eal interaction occurs in public spaces designed to support specific functions, not in spaces designed simply as generic gathering areas. Another impediment to interdisciplinary collaboration is the politics of space. In some respects, you might say that the politics of space is embedded in the traditional culture of academe-the more space you have, the more important you and/or your department are."
"Even in colleges that are committed to sustainable design (where you might think wasteful space would be anathema), you find faculty members with multiple offices; research labs that are used for storage; and classrooms that remain underutilized for entire semesters. Frequently this phenomenon is perpetuated by hard boundaries between academic units. Wouldn't rethinking how space is allocated allow us to use it more efficiently and effectively?"
FULL STORY: Mary Jo Olenick: Can Less Space Be More?

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie