New program offers funding, technical assitance if cities commit to Smart Growth.
The newly formed Utah Quality Growth Commission will "provide planning help and priority funding for Utah communities" if they adopt smart growth plans and ordinances. Money and technical assistance will come from programs in the departments of Transportation, Community and Economic Development, Natural Resources, and Environmental Quality. Some of the conditions for approval are mixing of housing types, creation of greenbelts and argicultural preservation, transportation plans, and cluster development. In addition, cities will be designated "Quality Growth Communities" by the governor. Gov. Walker explained the goals of the program by saying "This is going to allow communities to look at their assets and begin planning for the future. They're going to have to decide what they want to look like in 5 or 10 years and what they want to be."
Thanks to Peter Christensen
FULL STORY: Cities offered growth deal
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
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
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie