Mayor Michelle Wu said the new rule will help boost demand for green materials and create new jobs in the green building sector.
An executive order signed by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu bans the use of fossil fuels in new buildings and renovations of city-owned property, reports Nish Amarnath in Smart Cities Dive. “Wu said the move will accelerate Boston’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, with buildings accounting for more than 70% of the city’s total carbon emissions, and municipal emissions constituting 2.3% of all those emissions.”
The move could boost demand for low-emissions products and materials. “Wu’s office added that the executive order will pave the way for fresh employment prospects in building construction, design and maintenance.”
The rule applies to city properties, but also includes “a significant rule alteration regarding fossil fuel use in private projects.” Last month, Mayor Wu announced “a specialized climate-friendly state-specific stretch code that mandates new constructions, even those currently using natural gas, to be equipped for future all-electric functionality” that will go into effect in January 2024.
Read the full story: Boston mayor bans fossil fuels in new city-owned buildings
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.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
City officials are dumping billions of gallons of sewage into the Chicago River
This year, the Racine Avenue sewage pumping station has poured over 10 billion gallons of sewage into the Chicago River.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
Satanic place names
From streams and lakes to valleys and canyons, I mapped more than 1,000 places named after the Devil.
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