Architects and other observers are still debating whether or not the built environment can contribute to social decay and urban unrest.
"When the world's architects held their biennial gathering in Venice these past few weeks, some of the top minds in their profession chose the anniversary of the Paris car-burning riots -- which reached their peak a year ago this weekend with almost 9,000 cars torched by alienated young men -- to ask a few hard questions.
Were the riots on the edges of French cities caused, in whole or in part, by the utopian-intentioned housing enclaves that were supposed to prevent such things? Were the gangs of young men from the suburbs who became actual and would-be al-Qaeda terrorists in London and Toronto this year driven to their deeds by the alienating effects of their built surroundings? In short, are crummy buildings and badly designed neighbourhoods turning a generation of new arrivals violently against the society around them?"
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Record-breaking wildlife overpass in Colorado brings 91% reduction in animal collisions
Prior to the overpass, vehicles were hitting one deer per day on Colorado’s Interstate 25.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
‘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.
Trump wants to cancel nearly 98% of funding for HUD housing support program
Multiple housing groups are suing the administration in an effort to preserve the funding.
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