Fuled by casino cash, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is buying up sections of Scott County, Minnesota at a rate that has local planners spinning.
"[T]he tribe's land purchases, which are surging as the price of land sags, are turning up a different sort of heat in Scott County. Civic leaders in Shakopee say the pace and pattern of the tribe's land buys -- it has spent more than $100 million -- are making planning a logistical nightmare in the fast-growing community.
And they wonder if the tribe is engaged in a shrewd chess game to block Shakopee's development plans, then move out into open countryside to start reacquiring vast stretches of ancestral land. It's a question emerging from New York to California as tribes riding high on casino profits have begun spending that wealth to reassert control over that ancestral land.
In Shakopee itself, said Mayor John Schmitt, 'It appears they're out to garner as much as they can get, wherever they can get it. And they have the war chest to do that.'"
FULL STORY: Tribe is reclaiming a lost legacy

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

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

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

‘Displaced By Design:’ Report Spotlights Gentrification in Black Neighborhoods
A new report finds that roughly 15 percent of U.S. neighborhoods have been impacted by housing cost increases and displacement.

Nevada and Utah Groups Oppose Public Land Sell-Off Plan
A set of last-minute amendments to the budget reconciliation bill open up over half a million acres of federally managed land to sales.

More Than a Park: A Safe Haven for Generations in LA’s Chinatown
Alpine Recreation Center serves as a vital cultural and community hub in Los Angeles' Chinatown, offering a safe, welcoming space for generations of Chinese American residents to gather, connect, and thrive amidst rapid urban change.
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.
City of Clovis
City of Moorpark
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions