At several Baltimore area universities, construction managers learn to cut costs on the fly to cope with increasing construction costs.
Maryland's universities are limited to annual escalations of 10 percent this year, according to Ron Brown, associate director for architecture, engineering and construction at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. "One building now under construction at Coppin State University would have worked best as a four-story structure but was redesigned to be taller and thinner because that was cheaper. And many parts had to be rebid to deal with cost overruns." Architects also feel the pinch when they must go back to the drawing board, explains Glenn Birx of the architectural and planning firm Ayers/Saint/Gross. He says: "That causes us loss of money. It's not been good."
FULL STORY: Trying to cope with rising cost of construction
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Vehicle-related Deaths Drop 29% in Richmond, VA
The seventh year of the city's Vision Zero strategy also cut the number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes by half.
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Southern Californians Survey Trees for Destructive Oak Pest
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Opinion: How Geothermal HVAC Lowers Costs, Improves Grid Resilience
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Tenant Screening: A Billion-Dollar Industry with Little Oversight. What’s Being Done to Protect Renters?
Reports show that the data tenant screening companies use is often riddled with errors and relies on information that has no bearing on whether someone will be a good tenant.
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.
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)