The American Planning Association's annual list celebrates the best urban planning and design from around the country.

The American Planning Association has announced its 2017 Great Places in America. The Great Places award acknowledged five winners each in three categories—Great Neighborhoods, Public Spaces, and Great Streets.
Information about each of the 2017 winners is available on the APA's website, and all day long news has been flowing in from news outlets celebrating the acknowledgement of places in their area. Here's a roundup of local news stories covering the awards as of this writing:
Great Neighborhoods
Over-the-Rhine (Cincinnati)
OTR Named One Of 15 Great Places In America
OTR recognized as one of five "Great Neighborhoods'' in America by the American Planning Assn.
Seward (Minneapolis)
Minneapolis neighborhood named one of 2017's 'Great Places in America'
Seward Named Among Greatest Neighborhoods In U.S.
Pearl (San Antonio)
Pearl makes “Great Places in America” list
Uptown Greenwood (Greenwood)
Uptown Greenwood named one of America's great neighborhoods
Public Spaces
The County Home Complex (Pitt County)
Pitt County’s County Home Complex ranks in APA’s top five Great Public Spaces
Market Square (Knoxville)
Market Square named one of 15 Great Places in America by American Planning Association
Great Streets
Lincoln Avenue and Giddings Plaza (Chicago)
Lincoln Square Named A 'Great Place' In America: Well, Duh
South Grand Boulevard (St. Louis)
South Grand designated 'Great Street in America'
FULL STORY: Great Places in America

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
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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.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
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Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie