A recent breach in the largest hydroelectric dam in Russia highlights the dangers posed by undermaintained Soviet era infrastructure.
"Legacy equipment, a blessing for newly privatized companies in the early post-Soviet period, has now become a headache, or worse, for many private Russian companies.
Sayano-Shushenskaya and similar dams built by the Soviet Union's command economy provided copious, cheap hydropower, and many businesses benefited. Rusal, the world's largest aluminum company with many smelters in Siberia, took advantage of bountiful supply and cheap prices as it ramped up operations over the last decade."
Officials are now trying to figure out how to update or replace the staggering amount of infrastructure to make sure more accidents don't happen.
FULL STORY: Decaying Soviet Infrastructure Shows Its Era

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
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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.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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