There may be plenty of reasons to hail the rise of electric vehicles, including California's policy to ban the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035. But what may be good for the air is not necessarily good for cities.

Economists, energy analysts, and even psychologists will debate and anticipate the impacts of a gas-free future. I expect it will, on balance, be far better than the status quo. But tradeoffs will be made (oil drilling for cobalt and nickel mining, for instance) and unintended consequences will arise, as they always do with major technological shifts.
Back in 2005, the prospect of widespread use of electric vehicles—much less ones that could outdrive the gnarliest hot rods of the day—was, if not unthinkable, at least implausible. That year, Californian drivers emitted roughly 180 million tons of carbon into our 1.01 million cubic miles of troposphere.
California surely needs to reduce pollution. But, just as surely, it also needs to make nicer cities. The trouble with “nicer cities” is inherent in the phrase itself: it's vague, subjective, and debatable. Public policy loves metrics, though. The more definitive a measure, the better. If you can say what you want, you can figure out how to get it, and, later on, you can evaluate whether you've gotten what you want.
Cars are still cars, electric or not. They still take up space. They still require energy and infrastructure. They can still kill occupants and bystanders alike. They still make people lazy and antisocial. Walking, biking, rolling, scooting, and bus-riding are all preferable to lithium mining and highway-building if we want to be sustainable.
FULL STORY: The Internal-Combustion Car Did Us A Favor

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?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
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.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie