The project aims to slow erosion along the riverbank and restore the formerly industrial area to a more natural state.

Southern Indiana will soon be home to the region’s first “climate-adaptive park,” reports David Kidd in Governing. Dubbed Origin Park, the project is a public-private partnership led by the River Heritage Conservancy. “The new park is being developed at the Falls of the Ohio, a 2-mile stretch of onetime waterfalls and rapids, since mitigated by a series of dams.” Nearby, the Ohio River Greenway features almost seven miles of multi-use paths, which will connect to Origin park via an elevated addition.
When complete, the new park will offer miles of hiking and biking trails across a natural landscape of forests, streams and meadows, all within a half-hour drive for 1.2 million people. The park is designed to remediate past environmental abuses, adapt to future flooding events, and slow years of riverbank erosion.
There’s a lot of work still to be done before the park officially opens. “Designed to be environmentally adaptable and financially sustainable, the park’s completion is years away, with a price tag projected to be at least $130 million.” As the article explains, “there are still a number of private parcels within the park’s boundaries that will need to be returned to their natural state. Some parts of the post-industrial wasteland of junk yards and landfills have already been purchased. Negotiations are underway for the rest.”
FULL STORY: The Midwest Gets Its First Climate-Adaptive Park

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

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

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.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

California Homeless Arrests, Citations Spike After Ruling
An investigation reveals that anti-homeless actions increased up to 500% after Grants Pass v. Johnson — even in cities claiming no policy change.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)