The borough, which 'once epitomized working class America,' faces intense gentrification.
In the Williamsburg neighborhood, "Rents, running $300 to $500 a month before 2000, jumped to $1,500 and even $2,000 as hipsters moved in to escape Manhattan prices." Many original residents were displaced as a result. "With the Bloomberg administration pushing a new waterfront zoning plan that will accelerate the rapid rent hikes in Williamsburg, it will only get worse for plenty of longtime local residents." City planners claim that an inclusionary zoning program will preserve affordable housing in the area, but only a fraction of the original residents will be able to take advantage of it. One community activist "is rankled when news accounts refer to the neighborhood as a 'frontier' and the newcomers as 'pioneers.' It's 'like Columbus.'"
Thanks to David Gest
Read the full story: 'Discovering' Williamsburg
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority