Portland has them. So does Charlotte. But in the nation's capital, streetcar overhead wires are under fire from historic preservationists.
You're probably familiar with Washington D.C.'s ban on tall buildings. Did you know there's an overhead wire ban too? It's now colliding with efforts to return streetcars to the district.
"We happen to think that's what keeps the beautiful character of the monumental core looking as it does," Gene Keller, an urban planner with the Capital Planning Commission, tells the Washington Post.
But top D.C. officials say that aesthetic regulation is getting in the way of the new generation of mass transit. They're ready to repeal the overhead wire ban.
FULL STORY: D.C. streetcar project may get hung up on overhead wires

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

USGS Water Science Centers Targeted for Closure
If their work is suspended, states could lose a valuable resource for monitoring, understanding, and managing water resources.

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Why just transition efforts must move beyond economic considerations by embedding human rights principles into business practices to ensure equitable, transparent, and accountable outcomes for affected communities and workers.
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