Patt Morrison asks, what if everybody owned a McMansion?
"In Los Angeles, we're still fighting our zoning battles on paper. So far...Los Angeles' equivalent war is over McMansions, the lotline-to-lotline monstrosities that can turn a green, airy neighborhood into a street as solid, massive and unfriendly-looking as the Raiders' offensive line...Just how often do people complain that "L.A. has no neighborhoods"? Probably as often as other people set about trying to screw up the ones it does have...The McMansion wars pit neighborhoods against builders, and sometimes family versus family."
Read the full story: Patt Morrison: Cramming L.A. With McMansions
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Nation's most wind-powered state turns to coal as data centers increase energy demand
For the first time in decades, Iowa has increased its generation of coal power.
NYC cools commuters with city's first rain garden above a bus stop
New York City officials say the plants in the rain garden can absorb 16 gallons of rainwater during heavy storms.
Brightline West’s future may rely on $6 billion federal loan
The company has until Nov. 2 to make a $400 million equity investment into its proposed high-speed rail line.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association