Local advocates are celebrating the start of clean up work on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn.

Kevin Duggan reports from Brooklyn, where a project to dredge the Gowanus Canal, in the works for a decade, is finally underway.
Duggan offers some of the credit for the clean up project to the advocacy of a group called the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club. The dredging is expected to clear out pollution caused "more than a century’s worth of industrial use and hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage that flush into the waterway during storms each year," explains Duggan.
The Dredgers started their advocacy by taking trips to raise awareness, adding canal-side concerts, movie screenings, and water-borne operas in recent years. While the cleanup project is underway, "recreational boating would be banned for the duration of the cleanup anywhere north of the Ninth Street Bridge, so smaller vessels don’t interfere with the heavy machinery atop barges."
More coverage of the Gowanus clean up project is available from Brownstoner, Yahoo News, and Dredging Today.
FULL STORY: GOWANUS CANOERS CELEBRATE START OF SUPERFUND DREDGING

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

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

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

King County Supportive Housing Program Offers Hope for Unhoused Residents
The county is taking a ‘Housing First’ approach that prioritizes getting people into housing, then offering wraparound supportive services.

Researchers Use AI to Get Clearer Picture of US Housing
Analysts are using artificial intelligence to supercharge their research by allowing them to comb through data faster. Though these AI tools can be error prone, they save time and housing researchers are optimistic about the future.

Making Shared Micromobility More Inclusive
Cities and shared mobility system operators can do more to include people with disabilities in planning and operations, per a new report.
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie