Prisons around the country are looking less and less like the typical concrete box; Washington state has 34 LEED-certified prisons, some of which offer "green work" programs.
"This fall, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced 16 new green retrofitting projects, which they estimate will save $3 million in energy costs each year. The state already has solar power fields at two facilities, and plans to build six more in the coming year. A new $176 million juvenile detention facility in Alameda County - home to Berkeley and Oakland - recently became the country's first jail to receive LEED gold certification.
Other green projects - from wind turbines to biomass boilers - have been announced by Departments of Corrections in Virginia, Nevada and Indiana.
Mike Callahan, the physical plant director at the Putnamville Correctional Facility in Indiana, says the facility's biomass boiler alone, which burns scrap wood from the prison's pallet industry, has saved $6,300 a day in gas bills."
Read the full story: Greening the Prison-Industrial Complex
Land use as protest: How American cities are fighting federal immigration detention centers
Across the country, city officials are using zoning codes and land use law to limit where ICE detention facilities can be built.
San Antonio sets new rules for immigration detention facilities
The city revised its zoning code to add new restrictions for private detention centers, but the ordinance won't apply to federally operated facilities.
Architecture Firm to Stop Designing ICE Prisons After Staff Outrage
Employees of one of the nation’s largest “justice facility” firms called on their company to end contracts for detention facilities.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
LAX SkyLink opening delayed again, contractor won’t commit to new deadline
The project was supposed to open its doors to the public in 2023.
Caltrain may slash over one-third of its stations
If Bay Area voters reject two transit tax measures, Caltrain, BART and AC Transit will see steep service cuts.
A 'dangerous' precedent: North Carolina successfully pressures communities into voting for toll roads
Two mayors resigned from the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization after it voted in favor of the toll roads.
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
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello