Reining sprawl may require "redirecting" it.
"A policy issue is often helped by being framed in direct language. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell contributed to the cause of smart growth earlier this month when he told developers (as reported in The Philadelphia Bulletin), 'What you have to do is redirect sprawl.'"
"Speaking at a brownfields forum sponsored by the International Council of Shopping Centers, Mr. Rendell said that instead of paving large swaths of undeveloped fields and farms, as has happened for decades in his state and ours, developers should redirect development to sites that have closed factories or other defunct businesses on them."
"Advocates for smart growth often cite the need for 'infill development.' But 'redirect sprawl' gets the message across better. One of the aspects of smart growth that is sometimes forgotten is - growth. To redirect sprawl is emphatically to keep growing, but in places that don't waste energy, add to traffic congestion or ruin the view."
Read the full story: Let's Redirect Sprawl
True Affordability: Critiquing the International Housing Affordability Survey
The International Housing Affordability Survey rates affordability in selected urban regions. Although presented as objective research, the IHAS is actually propaganda. Users of this information should be warned about its biases
Urban Containment: Sometimes Bad, Sometimes Not So Much
Some commentators on urban containment treat the issue as all-or-nothing: either strict limits on suburban development are good public policy everywhere, or they are good public policy nowhere. Perhaps a more nuanced view is appropriate.
Ontario, Canada Working on Sprawl-Killing Legislation
It's hard to imagine a policy that so comprehensively acts to create disincentives for sprawl gaining political traction anywhere in the United States.
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.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
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
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority