NY Professor to make the case for sustainable cities at an annual conference in Melbourne Australia.
Prof. Michael Sorkin believes that "the recovery of the human scale of urban interaction" is essential for the creation of sustainable cities. "We know how to do this," he says from his office in New York, "but under pressure from developers, public officials and architects of shrivelled imagination, it is something we fail to celebrate and demand." Prof. Sorkin moved into the relatively recent academic discipline of urban design because the architecture profession has failed to effectively tackle "the vapid suburbanisation of the planet as part of a more general decline in the politics of compassion and responsibility". The more traditional discipline of urban planning has also failed to do much more "than produce mechanical, alienating, dreary cities that lack the vitality of less regulated, more spontaneous places".
Thanks to Zvi Leve
FULL STORY: Rescuing the city's lost soul

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

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.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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