Facing the highest rate of deaths of any major city in the U.S. opioid epidemic, the city of Philadelphia is preparing to take drastic measures.
"Philadelphia, with the highest opioid death rate of any major American city, on Tuesday announced plans to encourage the opening of sites where people can inject drugs under medical supervision," reports Aubrey Whelan.
According to Whelan, an authorized safe injection site would put Philadelphia at the forefront of public health policy responding to the opioid epidemic. Canada cities have sanctioned injection sites. In the United States, Seattle is closest to opening a site. "Cities like San Francisco, New York, Ithaca and Denver have begun to seriously consider sites," according to Whelan. "A study in Baltimore found that the city would save $6 million on medical costs connected with overdoses by opening one site."
The city will still need to select locations for the sites, currently referred to as Comprehensive User Engagement Sites (CUES). According to city officials presents at a recent press conference announcing the new facilities, the CUES are only one part of what will become a large, coordinated effort to combat the opioid epidemic.
The article includes a lot more context about the legal and political controversies surrounding harm reduction practices.
FULL STORY: Safe-injection sites to fight opioid overdose deaths get green light from Philadelphia officials
The Messy Politics of Saving Lives from Drug Overdoses
Philadelphia was on the verge of approving a key harm reduction strategy to prevent fatal drug overdoses until the city council all but banned supervised injection sites, overriding a mayoral veto. A New York Times report explores the controversy.
'Supervised Injection Facilities'—Successful in Canada, Coming to the U.S.
Needle exchanges are still controversial in some parts of the country, so expect "supervised injection facilities" to be even more so.
Federal Government Intervenes to Halt Planned Supervised Injection Site in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania-based prosecutors and the Department of Justice in Washington are mounting a legal challenge to a proposed supervised injection site in the works in Philadelphia.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
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.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
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.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
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