Raised and fortified homes in Beachtown, a community in Galveston, Texas, took a direct hit from Hurricane Ike, and survived, intact.
"Beachtown, planned by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company and employing architects who participated in the Mississippi Renewal Forum, withstood a bull's-eye hit from the winds and nearly 20-foot storm surge of Hurricane Ike in early September. By all accounts, the engineering performed brilliantly and the living spaces survived with barely any damage - while neighborhoods not far away suffered near-total destruction.
Only about 20 houses are occupied or under construction in Beachtown, so the quality of the urbanism has yet to be fully proven. However, developer Tofigh Shirazi and the architects are using ideas that enhance the human scale of buildings that are raised and fortified to survive a massive flood.
Beachtown has been the subject of positive local news coverage, with reporters using words like 'amazing' and 'a contrast to all of the devastation.' Over shots of destroyed neighborhoods and the strikingly different intact buildings at Beachtown, TV reporter Deborah Wrigley intoned: 'On the Bolivar Peninsula the devastation is near complete ... . Yet across the channel on the eastern point of Galveston Island is a stunning example of engineering against disaster. There's the old saying, they don't build 'em like they used to. Here [at Beachtown], homes are built better...'"
FULL STORY: Beachtown shrugs off Hurricane Ike

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?
TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events
Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan
The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)