One in four new schools approved for state funding in the past four years is being built beyond designated growth boundaries.
"As Gov. Martin O'Malley pushes for a record $400 million in state spending to build, expand and renovate schools across Maryland, some are questioning whether school construction policies and practices are undermining the state's decade-old fight against sprawl.
"Why are so many of our schools being built out in cornfields where nobody can walk to them?" asks Dru Schmidt-Perkins, executive director of 1000 Friends of Maryland, a group that advocates compact development.
She and other critics say local and state officials are still building too many "megaschools out in the middle of nowhere," which aggravate traffic, air pollution and childhood obesity. Sprawling, distant schools also weaken the role the facilities could play as community centers, they argue, while costing taxpayers as busing budgets balloon."
Read the full story: Growing pains of schools
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.
Democrats’ victory may threaten act to expedite energy projects
Democrats may decide to vote against the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, and negotiate a more favorable bill once the 120th Congress begins.
Voters choose public transit, approve $31 billion in funding
Approved projects include $101,000 for reduced-cost transit in a Michigan town and $14 billion for regional transit in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Study reveals best places in the U.S. for cycling, walking
New research from Streetlight Data examines bicycle and pedestrian miles per capita in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population.
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
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority