A post for the Market Urbanism website says planning is entering Season Three with no guarantees it will catch on with audiences.

Nolan Gray ponders a question that might be keeping you at night: "Why is it that the only representation of city planning in popular culture over the past 25 years was such a sad, cynical man?"
The planner Gray speaks of is Mark Brendanawicz, a character from early episodes of the beloved show Parks and Recreation. "It’s conspicuous that even in a show so sympathetic to local government, the city planner remains a cynical, somewhat unlikable character," adds Gray.
Gray's analysis of the big, anxiety-inducing question about Parks and Recreation really breaks down into two questions: "First, are planners in fact jaded? And second, why would the show’s audience be so comfortable with having planners presented this way?"
The article traces a history of the profession before producing a call for a new, "liberal conception" of the planner.
FULL STORY: The Disillusionment of the American Planner, or How We Became Mark Brendanawicz

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train
The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.

The Subversive Car-Free Guide to Trump's Great American Road Trip
Car-free ways to access Chicagoland’s best tourist attractions.

San Antonio and Austin are Fusing Into one Massive Megaregion
The region spanning the two central Texas cities is growing fast, posing challenges for local infrastructure and water supplies.
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