Government / Politics
Community Engagement Highlights from APA 2016
As I do every year at the APA National Conference, I did my best to catch as many community engagement sessions as possible. Here are highlights, takeaways, and the common threads I noticed this year.
Moonshine, Basketball, and the Power of Place
Like a random encounter on the street, sometimes disparate ideas converge in interesting ways. Today, Kentucky Mist Moonshine and the Project for Public Spaces shed some light on municipal branding.
Environmentalists Disagree On Bikes in the Wild
Environmental groups are split over legislation that would remove the nationwide ban on bicycles in the wild.
A New Subway Line Unveiled for Republican Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz
It wasn't the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that named the new subway line for the Texas senator, but one of the city's major tabloids showed its 'only in New York City' creative flair for attention-grabbing headlines.
Maine DOT Spars With Regional Transportation Planners
Transportation planners in Bangor, Maine are accusing state officials of holding regional transportation projects hostage to force the construction of a controversial connector project.
Florida Approves Bill to Shake Up Transportation Project Process
Florida Governor Rick Scott signed an omnibus transportation bill earlier this week that makes a dozen changes to the work of the Florida Department of Transportation.
HUD Announces New $174 Million National Housing Trust Fund
A new federal housing program is unique in its approach but all too common in its scope.
Report: Increase Gas Tax to Solve Illinois' $43 Billion Transportation Problem
There's good news and bad news in a new report on the state of transportation infrastructure in the state of Illinois.
It's the Complexity, Stupid! (Try 'Splainin' that in an Elevator)
The dangerous absurdity of building a national—or a community—to-do list around fear, resentment, and wishful thinking
A Transportation Schism in the Atlanta Region
When suburban voters and political leaders oppose transit funding sales taxes, the entire region experiences the consequences. Atlanta is the latest case study in this political dynamic.
How to Rethink the Suburbs: A Lesson From Toronto
A new zoning law in Toronto could enable its hundreds of suburban tower developments to become vibrant and active communities.
A Reversal of Direction for TransCanada
TransCanada, the company that hoped to build a Canada-to-Gulf Coast pipeline, now wants to build one to carry Bakken oil from North Dakota to Canada, transporting oil now hauled only by trains that have caused recent deadly explosions.
San Francisco Teachers Could Get Eviction Protections
San Francisco may move to protect teachers from "no-fault" evictions during the school year.
Let's Talk About Civic Crowdfunding and Government Responsibility
A reply to skeptics about the democratic power and potential of civic crowdfunding platforms.
A Utopian Solution to NIMBYism and High Housing Costs
The housing shortages caused by restrictive zoning are easy to solve in principle—even if the solutions are politically impossible.
The Golden State of Disabled Drivers
"Something is wrong," proclaimed Los Angeles Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D), "when one in eight California drivers claims a disability." Gatto has introduced two bills: one to address disabled parking, the other could promote variable pricing of parking.
How High is Too High for Transportation Sales Taxes?
Sales taxes are regressive, but unlike the gas tax, they bear no relationship to transportation. Should a November transportation ballot measure pass, sales taxes in three cities in the county of Los Angeles would exceed 10 percent.
Canada Is Looking Better and Better
Alan Mallach unpacks a remarkable project currently underway in Toronto, suggesting that sometimes higher, rather than lower, density may be the best way to go.
Effort Underway to Change 36 Racist Place Names in Washington State
It's surprising to see places named with racially offensive words in 2016—no matter what your take on political correctness.
Philadelphia City Planning Commission Wins National Planning Award
The Philadelphia City Planning Commission has been awarded the American Planning Association's 2016 "National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Agency."
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.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
