James Howard Kunstler takes environmentalists to task for considering human nature something distinct from the rest of nature.
This thinking, Kunstler argues, leads folks to flee from "bad urbanism" to rural places, pushing the frontier of sprawl. What he urges is to make "American towns and neighborhoods magnificent places to live and work, and move downtown yourself, even if you haveto give up one of your mighty SUVs... The fiasco of suburbia, so acute and so damaging to our culture in general, has otherwise intelligent and educated people adopting foolish positions on our national land-use crisis. The most common is the idea that nature is the antidote for problems of bad urbanism."
Read the full story: Man in Nature: The Fiasco of Suburbia
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
LA to transform part of water treatment facility into new park
By rebuilding some of the Los Angeles-Glendale Water Reclamation Plant’s infrastructure, the city will free up 18,000 square feet to create a new green space for the public.
San Antonio approves $1.1 billion transit agenda
The agency has also begun construction of its Via Rapid Green line, which will service passengers from the San Antonio International Airport.
Guerilla urbanists’ DIY benches joined by sanctioned seats in Chicago
The group behind the original homemade benches said they will continue installing them across bench-less bus stops in Chicago.
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.
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority