The present threat of a global pandemic reveals the fundamental problem with visions for 'sustainable cities' relying on urban agriculture: there are important medical reasons for separating livestock operations from people.
"It's interesting to note...that swine flu, unsurprisingly, comes from 'close contact with pigs' – that is, spatial proximity between humans and their livestock. Swine flu, we could say, is a spatial problem – an epiphenomenon of landscape.
[T]here were very real epidemiological reasons for taking agriculture out of the city; finding a new place for urban farms will thus not only require very intense new spatial codes, it will demand constant vigilance in researching and developing inoculations. Few people want to see burning piles of livestock in Times Square or Griffith Park, let alone piles of human corpses infected with H5N1.
Avian flu, foot-and-mouth disease, swine flu: if these are spatially activated, so to speak, and spread through certain unrecommended proximities between humans and animals, then urban design's medical undergirding is again revealed. The space around you is no mere stylization; it is a strategy of containment. The modern city [is not just] a place to live – but also a functioning medical instrument."
FULL STORY: This Diseased Utopia: 10 Thoughts on Swine Flu and the City
Creating Ocean-Safe Plastic from Seashells
USC researchers have created a biodegradable, marine-safe plastic alternative using calcium carbonate from seashells, offering a promising solution to ocean pollution.
Commentary: Colorado Will Forge Ahead With Conservation Work
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Nevada to Host National Outdoor Recreation Conference
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
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Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
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California Set to Increase Electric Truck Chargers by 25%
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21 Climate Resilience Projects Cancelled by the EPA
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Trump Executive Order on Homelessness Calls for Forced Institutionalization
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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.
Yukon Government
Caltrans
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Norman, Oklahoma
City of Portland
City of Laramie