A new bill passed by the Australian Parliament appears at first to offer protection to environmentally sensitive lands is actually little more than a carbon-trading system for land that helps development on sensitive lands overstep environmental review.
"The Threatened Species Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Banking) Bill, flicked through by Parliament last month, pretends to assist biodiversity by applying a carbon trading model. In fact, like carbon trading, it amounts to little more than a purchasable license to destroy, without even an eco-assessment of the land in question."
"It's an attractive idea. Attractive to politicians, since it cloaks developer appeasement in greenwrap. Attractive to developers, in allowing low-grade inland to be conserved while top-dollar coastal paradise is developed. And attractive to a concerned public, in trusting the market to conserve high-value environments even as it commodifies them."
FULL STORY: Don't bank on this phoney fix
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?
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San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
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Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
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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