Japan prioritizes technological advancement to grow its economy.
Reuters reports on a series of technological plans announced in a recent government strategic review for the country of Japan—the country plans to test a driverless car system on public roads sometime this year, in time for deployment at the 2020 Olympics and commercialization in 2022.
The strategy also targets the year 2022 for the development of "virtual power plants" by the year 2022. A virtual power plant is the term used to describe a networking of small energy production and storage facilities systems, allowing collective efficiency.
Read the full story: Japan looks to launch driverless car system in Tokyo by 2020
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
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Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
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