The country is stocked with antiquated infrastructure, but this piece from The New York Times says that some of it is only old because it was built to last.
"Is the country relying too much on decaying infrastructure, the capital investments of generations long gone?"
"Maybe, but there is a good reason why big old things - pipes and bridges, nuclear reactors and even spaceships - stick around. In many ways, they are like your grandmother's dining room set: big, bulky and hard to remove. And in a lot of ways, it makes more sense to keep the old stuff than replace it with something from Ikea."
"Indeed, old equipment is in routine use. Nuclear reactors that were built in Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" era, with a life expectancy of 40 years, have recently had their licenses extended to 60 years. And one member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is already talking about adding 20 years on to that."
"Generally, the bigger an object, the longer it survives, because it has economic value, and has usually become intricately connected to things around it."
FULL STORY: Things Fall Apart, but Some Big Old Things Don’t
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.
Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.
In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont