One man's Connecticut home has no electricity, heating, air-conditioning, running water, or even conventional walls. He's made a structure of hay and stucco his home for 20 years, and his meager lifestyle causes little or no harm to the environment.
Small-scale living is the way for David Brown of Old Saybrook, Connecticut. He's spent 20 years living in a one room building made completely of hay and stucco, and has saved a fortune on electricity and gas costs. His lifestyle is generously aided by food donations from the local townspeople to feed the chickens on his organic farm. And while he admits that not everyone can live the way he does, he wishes they could.
"A highly efficient wood stove heats his home. He keeps his food chilled in a root cellar. Tiny amounts of propane power a reading lamp and a stove. He once had running water, but his well became silted, and he now fills jugs with water when visiting friends."
"The walls are hay bales 18 inches thick, providing massive insulation that helps the house, with its stucco exterior, retain heat in winter and repel it in summer."
FULL STORY: A baleful of simplicity: Hay house is fuel-efficient

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
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.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie