The experience of communities and school districts attempting to build elevated structures for residents to wait out the high water of a tsunami, an inevitable threat in the Pacific Northwest, has been challenging and impossible to differing degrees.
“A vast body of geological and historical evidence shows that the question is not whether [a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest] will happen, but when,” writes Eric Scigliano for Crosscut.
Given that certainty, “[y]ou might think it would be hard to argue with a tsunami,” but as Scigliano details in this article, regional officials have found a way to politicize resilience efforts to the point of complete stagnation.
As evidence of the frustrations of resilience planning, Scigliano cites the examples of four school bonds, proposed to fortify endangered coastal schools. The experience of approving these bonds has produced a mixed bag of success and failure—with success in Ocasta, setbacks in Ocean Shores, and failure in Long beach, for example.
Scigliano also notes a different example, of cooperation, set by nearby Native tribes. A lot more detail and insight is available from the source article, below.
Read the full story: How politics have stalled tsunami prep efforts on the WA coast
A Cutting-Edge Planning Hackathon in Seattle
In GeekWire, Chuck Wolfe covers an atypical urban planning and policy gathering called an “Urban Resilience Hackathon,” which was held at the University of Washington in Seattle late last month. For a day, the event showcased collaborative problem solving and innovative thinking in addressing urban challenges.
2020 Population Growth Rates for the 50 Biggest U.S. Cities
The Census Bureau released new data on May 27 that includes the first four months of the pandemic. Seattle tops the growth rate at 2.2% from July 1, 2019, to July 1, 2020, while Baltimore and San Francisco land at the bottom with -1.4%.
Op-Ed: Seattle Resilience Roadmap Feels 'Retrospective'
Natalie Bicknell notes several deficiencies in the roadmap that resulted from Seattle's participation in the Rockefeller Foundation's now-defunct 100 Resilient Cities program.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
Colorado’s Largest Data Center Could Rise Next to Homes — Without a Public Hearing
The proposed campus would consume 11 times the power of Denver International Airport; as it has across the country, opposition mounts.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Raised interest rates may kill financially vulnerable construction projects
The chief economist at ConstructConnect warns that if construction project owners are negatively impacted by the raised rates, it could result in delayed payments to contractors.
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.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello