While disasters bring out the best in people, long-term reconstruction often brings out the worst. How will New Orleans handle its reconstruction?
"It took centuries to transform New Orleans from a mosquito-infested swamp into one of the world's unique cities. And in a daylong rampage, Hurricane Katrina demolished it. Rebuilding New Orleans--and preserving the city's jazzy, gritty essence--will require energy on the scale of Katrina.
...Urban planners see an opportunity in New Orleans to build safe, smart accommodations that could better withstand the next hurricane or flood. Some have suggested building houses on stilts. Others propose new levees that could crisscross the city and contain floodwaters.
...Cities that forge ahead with no plan do so at their peril. That's what San Francisco did after its 1906 earthquake. Ignoring a grand redesign proposed by Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, city leaders pushed much of the earthquake debris into San Francisco Bay. There it became a wobbly foundation for the city's Marine district, which suffered some of the heaviest damage during the 1989 quake."
Read the full story: How do they rebuild a city?
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
This MA town is drowning in its own sewage — and residents like it that way
Susan Murcott, a waste water expert, said if Carlisle didn't address their leaking sewage, the problem could turn “deadly.”
Iowa taxpayers are paying thousands to clean manure out of their water
While the Clean Water Act makes states responsible for regulating factory farms that discharge pollutants, Iowa has turned a blind eye to the polluting farms.
Amtrak cuts ribbon on Seattle Airo maintenance facility
The $250 million, nearly 100,000-square-foot building can house an entire Cascades Airo trainset.
To power data centers, Google seeks autonomous control of thousands of homes’ electricity
The tech company has signed a deal to indirectly pay Mid-Atlantic residents to reduce their power demand when the grid is strained.
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
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello