The City of Boston is in the process of adding solar powered trash cans in its downtown. Despite early confusion from pedestrians, Mayor Tom Menino praises them for their cleanliness and ability to save on labor costs.
"They're boxy and green and, at first glance, don't even look like garbage cans; as Mayor Thomas M. Menino demonstrated their use yesterday, some people downtown mistook them for mail drops or traffic-light switch boxes.
They are Menino's latest idea for keeping the city litter-free: solar-powered, self-compacting trash receptacles. Delivering a rant about overstuffed trash cans, while trying to scrape gum off the bottom of his shoe at a Downtown Crossing unveiling, Menino described the virtues of the new devices. They need emptying only once or twice a day, not the 15 or more sanitation worker visits required by some downtown trash cans. They don't spill. They smell less. And, they hold some 150 gallons of trash, about five times more than a standard city receptacle."
Read the full story: Solar-power compactors press the mess in Boston
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
25 states, cities sue the EPA over erased power plant emissions limits
The coalition also intends to sue the EPA for not regulating emissions from gas-fired power plants.
Newsom vetoes giving CA tribes greater voice in water projects
In his veto letter, Newsom said the bill would add ‘uncertainty’ to the state’s fight to secure Californians’ water supplies.
Michigan Senate votes to revise 'lax' dam safety laws
A Bridge Michigan investigation found more than 100,000 Michigan residents live in the floodpath of a high or significant-hazard dam.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello