With energy and the economy both causing headaches, 2008 has been a big year for local governments recognizing and planning for peak oil. Finding a way forward in a future of constrained energy will require much of planners.
"2008 was a big year for government responses to peak oil. Post Carbon Cities, which tracks local government responses to the issue, has added a number of new towns -- not just the "usual suspects" -- to its list. But the bill is rapidly coming due on our "energy gluttony problem," and U.S. cities are left bedecked with infrastructure that requires cheap, easy energy.
The way ahead is not obvious for either planners or government officials. Planning and engineering practice is still rooted in a 20th-century mindset that assumes energy --and especially gasoline-- will be readily available and affordable for decades to come. As decades-long trends of both suburbanization and globalization come up against the resource limits of the 21st century, we'll have to move quickly to adjust to the new rules.
One of those new rules was explained succinctly by Bloustein School of Planning (Rutgers University) Dean James Hughes this past June: 'Distance matters.' If 2008 turns out to be the year that the big post-war economic and development trends finally came to an end, perhaps it will also be the year that we finally stopped pretending that distance didn't matter."
FULL STORY: Post Carbon Cities 2008 Year in Review

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

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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Planning for Universal Design
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Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
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