A new urban design plan calls for a robust buffer zone to protect the town from fast-spreading fires, among other mitigation measures.
Town leaders in Paradise, the California town devastated by wildfire almost four years ago, worked with a landscape architecture, planning, and urban design firm to outline plans for a 90,000-acre “buffer zone” that could protect the town from future fires. Adele Peters describes the plan, writing, “Homeowners in wildfire zones already know that their houses are safer when surrounded by few things that can burn; SWA’s design applies the same idea to a city.”
According to Peters, “The design proposes surrounding the town with new parks, athletic fields, orchards, and other amenities that are less likely to burn than forests, in a design that carefully considers data about current land uses, ownership, and fire risk.” The plan also calls for clearing vegetation along power transmission corridors and using controlled burns to thin out flammable materials.
“While it remains to be seen how much of the design Paradise will adopt, the Parks and Recreation Department has already started acquiring new land as a buffer zone around the town, and is considering the full design.” With a quarter of the state’s population living in fire-prone areas, the plan could serve as a model for other California communities on the increasingly vulnerable wildland-urban interface.
FULL STORY: A smarter urban design concept for a town decimated by wildfires
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
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
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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.