The legislation recognizes community gardens as vital urban spaces and an effective weapon against the impacts of climate change on cities.
A law passed by the New York state legislature and awaiting the governor’s signature recognizes community gardens as a key tool in the fight against climate change, report David Gonzalez and José A. Alvarado Jr. in The New York Times.
The bill aims to shield gardens on city land by mandating that regulatory officials consider the possible effects of development and construction when reviewing proposals to build on gardens deemed environmental assets by a statewide task force of gardeners.
Often volunteer-run and locally funded affairs, community gardens can provide vital green space in dense urban neighborhoods, educate community members about nutrition, and bring fresh produce closer to the neighborhood. In New York City, they began proliferating in the 1970s. Today, community garden volunteers are working to adjust their infrastructure for heavier storms and more intense heat waves by adding rain barrels and planting hardier crops, among other solutions.
Read the full story: Vital Places of Refuge in the Bronx, Community Gardens Gain Recognition
6 International Models of Urban Revitalization
The New York Times recently published an article exploring six cities from around the world reinventing themselves for the 21st century: Paris, Sydney, Medellin, Lisbon, Singapore, and Durban.
Neuroscience and Landscape Architecture
Two new studies use EEG and fMRI to pinpoint which elements of urban parks and gardens induce brain activity associated with meditative states.
Broken Inner-City Freeway Reborn as Garden
Activists have turned the site of a former inner-city freeway in San Francisco into a community garden.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
California city breaks ground on transit connector
The project includes three mobility hubs and a pedestrian bridge.
After public outcry, Massachusetts city releases housing development tracker
Cambridge’s tracker currently shows 250 housing projects in various stages of development.
40 years after approval, Chicago breaks ground on new park
The park honors Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the city’s first permanent non-native settler.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority