Looking for a way to forget about the Boring Company for a little while? You've come to the wrong place.
In a week of "big Elon Musk news," Dave Jaffer shares news of a new play written by Joe Bagel called Trapped in Elon's Mansion.
Far from launching on Broadway, the play got a staged reading in Montreal last weekend. Still, the conceit of the play is peak plan-nerd. The stage is written in iambic pentameter, and it details the controversial Twitter debate between billionaire Elon Musk and transit planning consultant Jarret Walker, when the former called the latter an idiot almost exactly a year ago.
There was an angle involving Shakespeare that you might have needed to be an English major-nerd to catch. In Q&A Joe Bagel explains in a way that really ties the whole scene together:
The fight I (and my friend, Audrina) got into with Elon was actually about Shakespeare. I was chirping him about his moronic Boring Company. So was a transportation expert, Jarrett Walker. Then, Elon called Jarrett an “idiot” and brought up dirt about Jarrett having gotten a PhD in Shakespeare Studies before he became a transit expert. Low blow! Such a jackass! So what better way to respond to Elon’s anti-Shakespeare tweet than a 17,000-word clapback in iambic pentameter?
Read the full story: Elon Musk is going to hate this
Friday Funny: The Onion Skewers Elon Musk (Again)
Elon Musk, a favorite target of satirists and urbanists alike, is once again the subject of The Onion's withering pen.
The Twitter Spat Heard 'Round the Planning World
It's understandable if you were too busy reveling in the holidays to catch the details of a controversy between Elon Musk and Jarrett Walker. The disagreement took on a life of its own on social media.
Tesla’s Self-Driving Still Not Working in Las Vegas Tunnels
The Boring Company had previously said it was working with Tesla to use its self-driving system in its tunnels below Las Vegas to save costs on drivers, but two years later, there is no clear timeline for “full autonomy.”
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.
California High-Speed Rail Authority picks trainset manufacturer
The California High-Speed Rail Authority aims to start servicing passengers by 2033.
LA may place emergency ban on karaoke room permits
If Councilwoman Heather Hutt’s proposal passes, the moratorium would last between 45 days and one year.
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.
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