MassDOT has a $1 billion opportunity to redesign the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) through Allston. One columnist says it's a rare second chance to correct one of history's mistakes along the Charles River.

A column by Renée Loth reveals details and an opinion about the ongoing planning of a new route for the elevated section of the Mass. Pike in Allston [pdf].
Loth notes the challenges facing the project, which has many stakeholders to satisfy. A group of urbanists has emerged to push Massachusetts Department of Transportation to "unchoke the throat"—the throat referring to the area under and to the east of the viaduct that elevates the section of the Pike. The idea to "unchoke the throat" would add an elevated boardwalk extending over the river, widen pedestrian and bicycle paths, add a landscape buffer, and improve public transit—in addition to "knitting together the south side of Allston with the burgeoning new enterprise campus Harvard University is building to the north."
Loth builds the case for these urban design improvements by providing a history lesson on the development of the Pike's current route, and a reminder that it's the citizens of Massachusetts that really lost out from the litigious process that conjured the current arrangement.
FULL STORY: To MassDOT: Tear down this wall

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

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

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

Savannah Reduces Speed Limits on Almost 100 City Streets
The historic Georgia city is lowering speed limits in an effort to reduce road fatalities.

A Park Reborn: Resilience and Renewal in Fire-Stricken Altadena
Rebuilt in just two months after the devastating Eaton Fire, Loma Alta Park now stands as a symbol of community resilience and renewal, even as some residents hope recovery efforts will continue to support housing stability and long-term equity.

Spain Moves to Ban 66,000 Airbnbs
The national government is requiring the short-term rental operator to remove thousands of illegal listings from its site as part of an effort to stem a growing housing crisis.
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.
City of Clovis
City of Moorpark
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions