Large-scale infrastructure projects in South Africa are rapidly increasing land costs and the costs of building. Some fear these projects may create a slow-down in private development.
"Speculators are anticipating rentals increasing 10%-20% over the next year or two. The main factors driving these rising rentals are rapidly rising building costs and land prices, both increasing at well above 10% a year."
"Many of the major government infrastructure projects pertaining to the Gautrain rapid rail link, the 2010 Fifa World Cup, La Lucia airport and others have not started in earnest."
"But over the next year or two we will see further upward pressure on building costs to the degree that there is a risk that the public sector projects could crowd out private sector projects."
Read the full story: Public projects push up building costs
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
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 Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority