The Oregon Department of Transportation anticipates spending about a million dollars to bring boulders to road embankments so that they are less hospitable to the homeless.
To disrupt illegal camp sites set up by homeless in Portland, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is moving boulders onto the roadsides. The project will eventually cost about a million dollars, but ODOT argues this cost is less than the cost of dealing with existing campsites.
Many have pointed out that this policy does nothing to address the underlying problem or help the people in the camp, but only forces them to move somewhere else.
Still, some neighbors support the move, including Tiffany Hammer, who spoke with reporter Lindsay Nadrich. "Personal safety is something Hammer and other neighbors said they have not had in years," Nadrich writes for NBC affiliate KGW. There had previously been reports of fires breaking out in the camp and of people defacing rose bushes. The bushes at least will no longer be an issue.
FULL STORY: Neighbors pleased as ODOT replaces roses with boulders to deter homeless
SROs Are Getting People Off the Streets in Portland
Single-room-occupancy hotels are providing much-needed affordable housing for the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Analysis: Homeless Villages Don't Spur Crime
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San Jose Is Training AI to Identify Homeless Camps
Images captured on cameras mounted on a municipal vehicle are being used to train a private technology companies’ AI algorithm to detect tents and signs of habitation in vehicles.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
Fair Housing Cannot Take a Back Seat to ‘Build, Baby, Build’
If we overlook fair housing principles in the plan to build US housing back better, we risk ending up right back where we started.
LA Metro Board Approves New 710 Freeway Plan
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Austin’s Proposed EV Charging Rules Regulate Station Locations, Size
City planners say the new rules would ensure an efficient distribution of charging infrastructure across the city and prevent an overconcentration in residential areas.
Making California State Parks More Climate-Resilient
A recently released report offers recommendations for keeping state parks healthy and robust, including acquiring additional land for conservation and recreation.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.
