Officially named in 2001, this small town in China's Yunnan Province is struggling to cope with over 2 million visitors a year. It's becoming a "high altitude hell."
"Struggling to cope with over 2 million visitors a year, the town that claims to have inspired mythical accounts of heaven on earth is in danger of becoming a high-altitude hell, choked by tour buses and overwhelmed by outsiders. Even the man who claims to have first sown the seed of an idea that led to the town changing its name five years ago says he rues the day he voiced it."
..."This is not heaven on earth... This is a tourist trap."
Read the full story: It's paradise lost as tourists flock to Shangri-La
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
Planned $2 billion courthouse in MA sparks tension with local government
Springfield owns an essential piece of the land developers intend to build on, and some city officials do not want to see the project come to fruition.
Californians can now transform balconies into power generators
Gov. Gavin Newsom has legalized plug-in solar technology, which allows residents to plug solar panels directly into their outlets
This 85-year-old ranch is Texas’ newest state park
The 650 acre ranch is one of the largest parcels of land along Lake Palestine.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello