A new report outlines a long list of measures the state needs to take to prevent catastrophic outcomes. However, it avoids directly discussing climate change as a cause of increasingly severe natural disasters.

A new report from the Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas takes an in-depth look at the impacts of Hurricane Harvey as well as response and recovery efforts.
The report describes the $125 billion of damage left by Harvey, along with the tens of thousands of people who were displaced and the loss of over 12,000 structures. Proposed strategies include the elevation of homes, a buyout program to move residents located in high-risk flood zones, and protection of wetlands.
The report also recommends construction of an $8 billion barrier against storm surge. "To be composed of a 57-mile-long land barrier and two 22-foot-high movable gates, it would be built to protect residential and industrial areas in Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel," says Anna Kuchment.
Critics, however, say the report does not do enough to address the role of climate change. "While the report, 'Eye of the Storm,' takes into account findings from climate scientists, including that sea levels are rising and storms are becoming more frequent and severe, nowhere does it explicitly mention climate change or its main underlying cause, the burning of fossil fuels," reports Kuchment.
FULL STORY: Hurricane Harvey report seeks to 'future-proof' Texas from climate change without saying so directly

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.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing
The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant
A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing
Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.
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