Some of the resistance that killed a major smart growth project in Alameda, California came from environmentalists. Josh Harkinson argues that its time for enviros to stop fighting smart growth and embrace density.
Andres Duany is interviewed in the article, saying "environmentalism itself is going to become questionable" if they keep preventing dense development from happening. Harkinson says that with population growth of over 200 million more people in the next 40 years, cities will have to start getting denser or will eat up the countryside.
He writes, "The alternative to this metastasizing, car-dependent sprawl is population density. And that means squeezing more people into cities and inner suburbs like Alameda."
Read the full story: Tall is Beautiful
Asheville reconsiders parking minimums as surface parking eats up over a third of downtown real estate
Housing advocates say parking requirements are unnecessary and induce sprawl.
Texas Could Have the Nation’s 3 Largest Cities by 2100. Are They Ready to Embrace Density?
Houston, Dallas, and Austin are growing fast. The old sprawl model is no longer sustainable.
Boulder Eliminates Parking Minimums Citywide
Officials estimate the cost of building a single underground parking space at up to $100,000.
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.
Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor
Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
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
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority