Bogotá, Colombia changed public opinion about jaywalking by putting mimes on the street to mock people who crossed illegally. Paul Romer of Stanford looks at other interventions that changed public opinion when laws couldn't.
Urination in the streets of Paris is a problem that Romer says has yet to be solved, but they might take a hint from Bogota or New Delhi:
"New Delhi, a city where public spitting and urination present similar problems, is having better luck preventing such behavior on its new subway system. A recent New York Times story on New Delhi's metro offers a nice illustration of how to establish new rules, particularly informal ones, enforced by norms."
Romer also cites New York's public announcements about new rules against squeegeeing cars without permission (a panhandling strategy) as another method that worked.
Read the full story: Zip It
The Effects of Tiny Home Downsizing
People living in tiny homes drastically reduce their ecological footprints and make more sustainable lifestyle choices, research shows.
Honduran Charter City Loses Its Compass
An experimental plan to build a new charter city for 10 million people in Honduras has lost a key element, its expected chairman and chief founder, Paul Romer.
Can A Charter City Save Honduras?
Adam Davidson explores Honduras's experimentation with economist Paul Romer's theories on the need for poor countries to build special economic development zones that essentially "start from scratch" with new legal and political systems.
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