Gina Olszowski's first book focuses on the personal stories of rural residents impacted by sprawl.
"Olszowski packed a bag, drove out to rural areas (all of them within an hour's drive of her apartment), snapped photographs of what she saw. Then she found people from all walks of life, and talked to them about their lives. In the book, the photos -- all of them in stark black-and-white -- are juxtaposed with snippets of interviews with farmers, suburban homeowners, mayors, and, near the end, experts in regional planning.
"It was difficult at first," she said. "A lot of people were confused about what I was trying to do. People think when you start talking about sprawl that you have something to profess, like some legislation."
But eventually she earned the trust of the 12 characters that make up her narrative. Olszowski said she wasn't looking to write a typical book about the technical details of urban sprawl -- those books already exist, she said, and the average person just doesn't read them. Her plan was to create something more human, something that captured the motions and emotions of daily life."
FULL STORY: The book on sprawl

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.

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.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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