Claims that the threat of gentrification are grossly exaggerated belie a fundamental misunderstanding of the real threat, writes Charles Shaw in this week's Op-Ed.
"Despite the budget crises, cities have systematically eschewed taxing corporations, instead giving them TIFs (tax increment financing) and tax abatements to beat the band. While corporations more and more are becoming the sole owners of urban real estate, the solution for most city and county governments is to over-tax the working class residents to compensate. This is a massive policy failure and speaks more to the corruption and prevailing robber-baron mentality of our so-called leaders and the corporate establishment than it does to population demographics."
Thanks to Chris Steins
Read the full story: Gentrification Reality Tour: Neither Benign nor Benevolent
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