High-profile urban parks in Denver and Irvine, California, hint at a resurgence in the creation of outdoor spaces in America's urban areas.
"Urban parks are back in fashion. In Denver, an 80-acre park opened in September on the site of another disused airport. New York plans to build a huge park on top of the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island. Innumerable town squares and pocket parks have been created or beautified, even in gritty places like Detroit. City planners, who once viewed parks as financial drains and nests of crime, now see them as magnets for tourists and creative types."
"The great parks that were built in the second half of the 19th century were intended to counteract the ill effects of city living, and so are the new ones."
FULL STORY: American pastoral

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.

As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.

More Apartments Are Being Built in Less-Dense Areas
Rising housing costs in urban cores and a demand for rental housing is driving more multifamily development to exurbs and small metros.

Plastic Bag Bans Actually Worked
U.S. coastal areas with plastic bag bans or fees saw significant reductions in plastic bag pollution — but plastic waste as a whole is growing.

Improving Indoor Air Quality, One Block at a Time
A movement to switch to electric appliances at the neighborhood scale is taking off in California.
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.
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