Environment
Jail the Planners for Not Preventing Sandy!
Ed Blakely indicts the planning profession for failing to protect our communities from the threat of a changing climate. How can we plan places that serve as bulwarks from the worst physical traumas, while providing economic and social resiliency?
NYC building owners overwhelmingly comply with new emissions limits
The New York City Department of Buildings is fining owners who did not file emissions reports.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
25 states, cities sue the EPA over erased power plant emissions limits
The coalition also intends to sue the EPA for not regulating emissions from gas-fired power plants.
California may destroy its beaches trying to save homes from El Niño
Boulders and seawalls can protect homes from waves, but ultimately destroy sandy beaches.
As El Niño approaches, Newsom vetos bill aimed at protecting California levees from flooding
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state’s allocated $170 million was enough funding; State experts estimate it will cost $3.3 billion to repair the California Delta's levees.
Record-breaking wildlife overpass in Colorado brings 91% reduction in animal collisions
Prior to the overpass, vehicles were hitting one deer per day on Colorado’s Interstate 25.
NYC plants over 18,000 trees, the most new foliage in a decade
Many of the trees were planted in communities vulnerable to extreme heat.
How ‘post-disaster gentrification’ alters neighborhoods after natural calamities
After hurricanes, fires or other calamities, the original residents of a community are often replaced by younger, wealthier residents.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Tribes to co-manage California’s biggest lake, protect its sacred fish
The Clear Lake hitch, a fish only found in Clear Lake, must contend with mercury contamination, algal blooms and predatory invasive fish in the watershed.
This Washington town is burning. That’s the plan.
After a close call with wildfire, Roslyn has embraced prescribed burns to protect the community.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Instead of water, sediment from droughts and wildfire is choking U.S. dams
Sediment has filled 8% of dam storage capacity in the United States. Because of climate change, researchers expect it will only accumulate quicker.
94% of wetlands could lose federal protections under proposed EPA rule
The ruling would only allot federal protections to waterways that flow nearly everyday, which few wetlands do.
15 million people rely on the Rio Grande — in 2 years, it may run dry
The river fuels billions of dollars in agricultural production. Reducing agricultural water use may be the only way to save it.
Data center provider partners with “cloud seeding” company to artificially trigger rainfall
With cloud seeding, planes or drones release salt compounds into clouds to make them produce rain.
California lawmakers secure climate funding from Newsom
Senate Democrats fought for the deal after changes to California’s carbon market threatened climate program allocations.
Wildfires are coming for America’s suburbs
Buying land in between paved cities and forests has become increasingly popular, but those same areas are naturally fire prone.
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.
planning NEXT
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
