Plans to double the length of publicly accessible riverfront will be included in Mayor Rahm Emanuel's State of the City address tonight.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will propose another expansion of the city's publically accessible riverfront as part of his State of the City address later tonight.
Fran Spielman reports that Mayor Emanuel intends to build on the success of the Chicago Riverwalk and four new boat houses and "bolster Chicago’s unique standing as a 'two-waterfront' city."
The mayor’s plan includes a host of improvements to the downtown Riverwalk east of State Street to bolster a wildly-popular — and, the mayor claims, money-making — attraction that former Mayor Richard M. Daley envisioned, but Emanuel carried over the finish line.
Emanuel is also talking about building a new trail from Chinatown’s Ping Tom Park to the west end of the Riverwalk at Lake Street.
The proposal included in the mayor's address is also notable for what it does not include: "the ambitious and costly plan championed by two North Side aldermen to carve a 24-acre public riverfront park out of the North Branch Industrial Corridor." Mayor Emanuel will instead stick to the direction provided by the North Branch Plan, which opens more of that land to development.
The article includes a lot more detail about Mayor Emanuel's park and open space agenda.
FULL STORY: Emanuel to unveil open space plan to bolster ‘two-waterfront’ city

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.

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?

Making Shared Micromobility More Inclusive
Cities and shared mobility system operators can do more to include people with disabilities in planning and operations, per a new report.

Car Designs Make it Harder to See Pedestrians
Blind spots created by thicker pillars built to withstand rollover crashes are creating dangerous conditions for people outside vehicles.

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.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
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