Although climate change is a predominant issue for California's land use planners, they concede they are just making up new practices and lack the tools they really need. Paul Shigley reports from the CAL APA Conference.
Some of the problems planners face stem from the California Environmental Quality Act, a four-decades-old law that may not be climate-friendly. Some of the problems stem from long-established local policies that demand more and wider roads above all else. But some of the problems also stem from a basic lack of knowledge, writes Shigley.
Read the full story: Cal APA Conference Follow-Up: Climate Change Confusion
California Adopts CEQA Reforms for Infrastructure, Leaves Out Residential
The state of California adopted reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pertaining to climate-friendly infrastructure projects, but residential development interests hoping for relief from CEQA will have to wait.
How the Environmental Review Process Privileges Highway Construction Over Transit
U.S. transit projects have a much harder time getting environmental approval than road projects, perpetuating the dominance of cars in U.S. transportation policy.
Who pays when a remote Alaska village can no longer stay?
A year after ex-Typhoon Halong, the struggle for two communities to find safer ground has become part of a national debate over who should bear the costs of the climate crisis.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
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.
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Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
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The Architects Foundation
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Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority