The New York Times reviews a new book about driving in China, and how the vastly expanding roadways are changing the Chinese way of life from the farms to the cities.
The book is "Country Driving: A Journey Through China From Farm to Factory", by Peter Hessler, a staff writer at The New Yorker. Though much of the book is plainly about driving and the quirks of the Chinese driving culture, the book also looks at the broader impact of car culture on the country.
"The big story Mr. Hessler has to tell in 'Country Driving' is about a country that's feverishly on the move. Speaking of the early years of the last decade, he writes, 'To drive across China was to find yourself in the middle of the largest migration in human history - nearly one-tenth of the population was on the road, finding new lives away from home.' His book chronicles the flight from rural China, and from farming and folkways, to new cities and their sprouting factories."
Read the full story: Feeling at Sea on the Roads of New China
Report Finds Driving Down, Roads In Good Condition
A new report from The Reason Foundation finds that the nation's roads and highways are in the best shape of the last 19 years. The authors contend that this fact is largely a result of fewer people driving due to the recession.
Newsom kills bill requiring polluting factories near schools to undergo environmental review
In his veto letter, Newsom wrote that protecting communities and strengthening manufacturing “were not mutually exclusive.”
LA Metro is paying Angelenos up to $600 to leave their car at home
Metro will pay around 2,000 households to participate in a program designed to shift travel modes away from private car trips to transit, biking, walking and shared mobility.
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.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority