A plan to build a flood barrier between Manhattan and the East River overcame some last minute controversy on its way to approval this month.
"The City Council approved Mayor Bill de Blasio's $1.3 billion plan to keep the East Side of Manhattan high and dry when the next storm surge hits," report Will Bredderman and Ryan Deffenbaugh.
The plan will clear the way for "a flood barrier of up to 13 feet high along a 2.5-mile stretch of East River coastline between Montgomery and East 25th streets."
As recently as September, the plan was surrounded in controversy, when Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Councilmember Carlina Rivera called for an independent investigation of the project.
The roll call vote to approve the project "also came just days after de Blasio agreed to create a community advisory council for the infrastructure undertaking," according to Rivera.
FULL STORY: Council approves plan to shield the East Side from the next Sandy
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The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association