Next American City's Hamida Kinge reviews the "State of the Air" report from the American Lung Association and finds dire news for the majority of Americans.
Emphasized in the report is the disproportionate impact on lower impact communities.
"America is dirtying its own air in cities from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh. And it's getting dirty via coal-fired power plants, oil refineries and other industrial sources, massive ocean-going vessels, and diesel- and gasoline-powered engines of all kinds – from trucks to bulldozers to lawn-mowers. Despite the fact that the most prominent of politicians rarely if ever utter the words "air pollution" – the focus in the last few years has been on clean energy for the sake of decelerating climate change, although clean energy also has tremendous benefits for air, water and land. More than 50 percent of the country lives in areas where the air is unhealthy."
FULL STORY: State of the Air: Issue 23 Preview
Colorado Landfills Emit as Much Pollution as 1M Cars
Landfills are the third-largest source of methane pollution in Colorado, after agriculture and fossil fuel extraction.
Comment: EPA Cuts will Send Atlanta Back to Eye-burning Ozone, Lung-damaging Smog, and Raw Sewage in the Chattahoochee River
A veteran political journalist takes stock of the hard-earned ground Georgia stands to lose with slashed environmental protection.
Poorest NYC Neighborhoods Pay Price for Delivery Boom
The rise of ‘last-mile’ e-commerce warehouses — and their attendant truck traffic and air pollution — is disproportionately impacting the most historically disadvantaged parts of the city.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?
Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance
The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.
Spokane Mayor Introduces Housing Reforms Package
Mayor Lisa Brown’s proposals include deferring or waiving some development fees to encourage more affordable housing development.
Houston Mayor Kills Another Bike Lane
The mayor rejected a proposed bike lane in the Montrose district in keeping with his pledge to maintain car lanes.
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.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont