A recent editorial argues that creating cities that consume less energy and emit less pollution will also help us create attractive and healthy places to live.
"Evidence around the world shows higher-density, walkable cities with excellent public transit have lower automobile dependence, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Clearly, urban planning represents a major opportunity for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions."
"For example, Peter Newman and Jeffrey Kenworthy show that per capita transportation energy use in sprawling automobile-dependent Houston is over 70 gigajoules (GJ) per year, while transit-oriented Hong Kong comes in at less than 10 GJ. European cities like Paris, Copenhagen, London, Vienna, Munich, and Amsterdam come in around 20 GJ."
"Green cities provide great mobility options, reduced public health costs from fewer traffic collisions and more active lifestyles, increased social capital from greater social interaction, more efficient infrastructure provision, protection of agricultural land from sprawl, and greater emphasis on beauty and livability -- qualities everyone can embrace.
That the climate crisis compels change is not a bad thing."
FULL STORY: What makes cities green also makes them great

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.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
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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.
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