Desperate times. Desperate measures.

The San Francisco Department of Public Works is stuck between a rock and a hard place.
A group of neighbors banded together to pile a bunch of boulders on a sidewalk in San Francisco to deter homeless from sleeping on the sidewalk, subsequently inspiring repeated acts of civil disobedience and an ongoing debate about how to respond to the city's growing homeless population.
A mysterious band of neighbors placed the boulders on the sidewalk on Clinton Park, a street in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco, as first reported by Teresa Hammerl.
At the time, a "San Francisco Public Works department spokeswoman told KTVU the city had no part in putting the boulders here, and since they aren't blocking the sidewalk, there are no plans to remove them," according to an early national article on the subject by Travis Fedschun.
The controversy has been on a roll since protestors countered the grassroots act of anti-homeless architecture by gathering to drink Rolling Rock and roll the rocks into the street. A "cat and mouse game" ensued, according to another article by Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, with the city replacing the rocks and the protestors rolling the rock back into the street.
Since the back and forth, Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru has given tacit approval to grassroots anti-homeless tactics by saying the more permanent solution to the controversy is larger rocks. "Nuru commended the neighbors for banding together to fund the 'solution,'" according to Rodriguez.
An additional article by Brock Keeling is devoted to feedback from local residents about the boulders and the attention they brought to the homelessness crisis in the city by the bay.
FULL STORY: City solution to Clinton Park anti-homeless measures: ‘larger boulders’

The Shifting Boomer Bulge: More Bad News for America’s Housing Crisis?
In the first of a two-part series, PlaceMakers’ Ben Brown interviews housing guru Arthur C. Nelson on the sweeping demographic changes complicating the housing market.

New York Governor Advances Housing Plan Amid Stiff Suburban Opposition
Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious proposal to create more housing has once again run into a brick wall of opposition in New York’s enormous suburbs, especially on Long Island. This year, however, the wall may have some cracks.

A Serious Critique of Congestion Costs and Induced Vehicle Travel Impacts
Some highway advocates continue to claim that roadway expansions are justified to reduce traffic congestion. That's not what the research shows. It's time to stop obsessing over congestion and instead strive for efficient accessibility.

Historically Redlined Neighborhoods Have Higher Rates of Pedestrian Deaths, Study Says
The consequences of historic redlining continue to have consequences in the present day United States. Add another example to the list.

Tolling All Lanes
Bay Area transportation planners are studying a radical idea to reduce traffic congestion and fund driving alternatives: tolling all lanes on a freeway. Even more radical, the plan considers tolling parallel roads.

Federal SMART Grants Awarded for Transportation Safety, Equity Projects
The grant program focuses on the use of technology to improve safety, accessibility, and efficiency in transportation.
City of Greenville
City of Greenville
Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps Program
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact: Mobility, Community, Possibility
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
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.