An op-ed column discusses benefits and costs of wind energy -- the newly developing industry behind it, the tax breaks it receives, and the logic or NIMBYism of opponents.
Are windmills eyesores, or signs of modernity? Do they affect property values? Should government mandate siting standards for wind generators?
Although recently rising energy costs have created a buzz in the market for alternative and renewable energy sources, some players are not yet convinced. Opponents of windpower call it "...an aesthetic blight, a source of noise pollution, a murderer of birds and bats. As for the still-young wind industry, it is an environmental plunderer, with its hirelings and parasites using a few truths and the politics of wishful thinking to frame a house of lies."
Op-ed columnist Anne Applebaum argues that such oppositions "...reflect a deeper American malady. The problem plaguing new energy developments is no longer NIMBYism, the 'Not-In-My-Back-Yard' movement. The problem now, as one wind-power executive puts it, is BANANAism: 'Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything.'"
Will other greener alternatives face the same opposition?
FULL STORY: Tilting at Windmills
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?
The Five Most-Changed American Cities
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San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
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Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.
Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions