The planning pundits can agree on some ideas, but have both failed to address a key point, writes C. Kenneth Orski.
"Sprawl has been blamed for everything, from gobbling farmland and creating a bland and vacuous suburbia to promoting obesity and global warming. Now comes Robert Bruegman, professor of art history, architecture and urban planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago, with a refreshingly contrarian view. In his new book, Sprawl: A Compact History (University of Chicago Press, 2005) Bruegman argues that the phenomenon of 'sprawl,' i.e. metropolitan decentralization, is as old as urbanization itself. In a recent event sponsored by the Progressive Policy Institute, the think tank of the middle-of-the road Democratic Leadership Council, Bruegman engaged in a spirited debate with Bruce Katz, Director of Metropolitan Policy at the Brookings Institution."
FULL STORY: THE SPRAWL BRAWL

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
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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.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
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In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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