A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
In California, Michigan and Georgia, an easy win is bringing dollars — and delight — back to city centers.
Tim Halbur is communications director for the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), the leading organization promoting walkable, mixed-use neighborhood development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions. He was managing editor of Planetizen from 2008 to 2011.
In a recent piece in Wired, Clive Thompson suggests that the solution to the problem of texting while driving is not to stop texting, but to stop driving. The popularity of texting is a good reason to support public transit.
WalMart made an offer to purchase a plot from a family in Frankenmuth, Michigan, but withdrew the offer when the City Council rezoned the land for a limited building size. The family sued, and a federal judge awarded them $3.6 million.
In Seattle, the street names were settled a century ago. Naming alleys and other unnamed civic features is a way to reclaim urban spaces and enhance heritage. Kurt Cobain Way, anyone?
Do certain kinds of people - students, elderly, environmentalists - choose to ride transit because of who they are? Or does the proper infrastructure make the difference?
The public image of Pittsburgh is of a dirty, industrial city, but the city has been at the forefront of sustainability for some time.
