Climate scientists have warned Chicago's planners that the City will be significantly warmer and wetter by the end of theentury. And from street trees to building standards, that message is infiltrating Chicago's planning and design.
Climate scientists say Chicago may feel like Baton Rouge by the end of the Century, so the City's planners are already implementing changes to prepare for a warmer, wetter future.
The City has banned the Illinois state tree (the white oak) from city planting lists, replacing it with southern swamp oaks and sweet gums. City thermal hotspots are getting vegetated roofs and pavement removal. Bike lanes are getting permeable pavement and intersections are getting flood control devices.
Mayor Richard Daley began this process back in 2006, when scientific models and risk assessments showed that projected changes in temperature and weather patterns could have drastic consequences for Chicago - from deaths to property damage to liability and insurance. But if the City began to act quickly and implement changes with the greatest cost savings and benefits, it would be possible to adapt to a changing climate.
Read the full story: New York Times
Confessions of a Failed Energy Martyr
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FTA Kills ‘Social Cost of Carbon’ in Transit Grant Criteria
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Study reveals best places in the U.S. for cycling, walking
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DSA members accuse Mamdani of 'abandoning values' over housing redevelopment
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All sides of BRT debate unhappy with CDOT’s most recent move
The Colorado Department of Transportation is no longer considering center-running bus lanes for Colorado Boulevard.
Massachusetts bogs generate both power, and cranberries
Putting solar panels above farmland is one way Massachusetts is advancing toward its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello