As urban sprawl intrudes into protected wildlife habitat, dangerous encounters with alligators are on the rise.
A fatal attack on 12-year-old Bryan Jeffrey Griffin in Lake County is a tragic reminder of how likely alligator run-ins have become. As more than 17 million Floridians venture into the gators' domain, building homes ever closer to almost every lake and river near open land, the chances of such deadly encounters continue to escalate. "What emerges very clearly is that Florida is the site of the most attacks and most fatalities, " said James Perran Ross, an alligator expert with the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. Florida has an estimated 1 million alligators. Louisiana has more, yet it has had only one attack and no documented fatalities, according to state wildlife officials. According to Noel Kinler, alligator program manager with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, "...most of our [alligator] habitat is separated from where people live."
Thanks to Sheryl Stolzenberg
FULL STORY: Alligators thrive, grow bolder

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
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Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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