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Yosemite

Planetizen Week in Review: August 26, 2016

It only takes two minutes and 55 seconds to catch up on the biggest news stories from the week in planning.

August 26 - Planetizen

Hillary Clinton

Affordable Housing and the 2016 Election

The cost of housing affects millions across the country, but the issue has been conspicuously absent in the campaigns. Hillary Clinton's plan includes an imprecise remedy, while Donald Trump's pronouncements have been vaguer still.

August 26 - Next City

Pittsburgh at Night

Rust Belt Revival: Pittsburgh's New Economy

When Uber announced this month that it would test-run its fleet of self-driving cars in the Steel City, many probably asked, "why Pittsburgh?" Unlike other post-industrial places, it's been incubating a 21st-century economy.

August 26 - Salon

Sea Level

The Danger of Buying By the Sea

Zillow has released research on how many of the nation's homes may be underwater (literally) by the year 2100. Florida, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Louisiana are at the highest risk.

August 26 - Zillow

Shasta

Climate Change Requires a Different Paradigm for California's Water Supply

Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, explains how the impacts of California’s historic drought are already changing the landscape of the American Southwest.

August 26 - The Planning Report


Earned Income Should Not Replace Public Funding for Community Development

Our plan was to seek out community-based organizations trying to back away from developer fees, pursuing recent implications that smaller organizations should consider leaving development work to more efficient, larger ones. We found none.

August 26 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Sacramento

Sacramento Rising: Mayor-Elect Darrell Steinberg's Vision for Sustainable Communities

Mayor-Elect Steinberg enters City Hall as a leader with a unique opportunity to enact sustainable infill policies he championed in the California Legislature.

August 26 - The Planning Report


Sharon, Vermont Utopian City Design

A Developer's Plan to Build a Mormon Utopia in Vermont Hits Opposition

Plans drawn up for a new, futuristic 20,000-person community in Sharon, Vermont, based on town plans originally conceived by Church of Latter Day Saints founder Joseph Smith, have hit a roadblock with locals and the church itself.

August 26 - Inverse

Boston

Boston Sets a Citywide Default Speed Limit of 25 MPH

Finally by the state of Massachusetts to set its own speed limits, Boston moved quickly to reduce to reduce its default speed limit to 25 mph.

August 26 - Boston.com

Bus

Friday Funny: Souvenir Photos of Your New York City Bus Ride

A satirical post by ClickHole imagines a world where bus trips are treated like a trip to Disneyland.

August 26 - Clickhole

When Architects Design Video Games

Not long ago, Deanna Van Buren was offered the position of lead architect on an unusual project—a video game called "The Witness."

August 25 - Archinect

London 2012 Olympic Games

For Host Cities, Olympic Legacies Are Mixed

The two-week competition is often touted as a galvanizing force for urban development. But that's only cities include the Games' legacy in their planning process from the start.

August 25 - Curbed

Sprinkler Sprawl

Study: Economy and Population Growing Faster Than Humanity's Footprint

The study compares data between 1993 and 2009.

August 25 - EurekAlert

Trenton

The Heritage Trail, a 60-Mile Dream, Becoming a Reality on the Delaware River

The Heritage Trail would loop around either side of the Delaware River, from Trenton, New Jersey, down to Philadelphia and back, exploring historic sites and a variety of neighborhoods and parks all along the way.

August 25 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

San Jose, California

With Help from The White House, Key California Climate Bill Advances

SB 32, the bill that continues the Golden State's rigorous carbon-cutting agenda, had failed last year and looked like it would do the same this year. It cleared the Democrat-controlled state Assembly on Tuesday, receiving one, lone Republican vote.

August 25 - Office of California State Senator Fran Pavley

PATH Train

On Isolated Transit Systems

In cities like New York where multiple transit operators serve the same travelers, nothing compels those operators to work together. This isolation can result in embarrassing inefficiencies.

August 25 - the transport politic

Portland Green Loop

Portland Residents Participate in Design of 'Green Loop'

Community input is crucial to a plan that would wrap Portland in a ring of greenery and pathways.

August 25 - Next City

Far Rockaway

New York Ready to Focus Revitalization Efforts in Far Rockaway

A Politico article describes the Far Rockaway neighborhood as still reeling from the effects of Superstorm Sandy and a history of underinvestment. The city is ready to launch a $91 million redevelopment effort to change all that.

August 25 - Politico New York

Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument

President Obama Designates New National Monument in Maine

The announcement that 87,500 acres of land in Maine's North Woods would become a national monument came the day before the centennial of the National Park Service. The designation is also sure to be controversial.

August 25 - Portland Press Herald

Yellowstone National Park

Happy 100th Birthday National Park Service

"The fundamental idea behind the parks is that the country belongs to the people," says President Obama.

August 25 - National Park Foundation

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