Neal Pierce argues that retiring Mayor Daley's achievements in Chicago "stand out as beacons for mayors, American and worldwide, to emulate." He attributes some of his success to sheer political skill, but also examines seven effective policy shifts.
Livability, which comes in the form of Chicago's extended Millennium park and a system of 110 miles of green roadway medians stretching out into the neighborhoods. "Starting with City Hall itself, the city has developed a world-leading 7 million square feet of green roofs."
Another key was a climate action plan that has been labeled the world's most advanced. His social policies for housing and education won him voter support from previously opposed groups. In winning control of Chicago's schools from the state legislature he set a precedent which many other cities have followed. Since then the schools have improved, but not nearly as much as Daley had hoped for.
Read the full story: The Seven Pillars Of Daley's Success
Museum of Public Housing Opens in Chicago
The museum highlights the history of public housing in the United States using displays intimately woven with family artifacts.
Candyman's Real Horror: American Public Housing Policy
The new film, set in one of America's most notorious public housing projects, highlights the failure of affordable housing policy and its impact on Black communities.
Introducing the National Public Housing Museum
The planned National Public Housing Museum, expected to open in 2021, will draw attention to a highly contested subject and connect to the relevance provided by contemporary anxieties about housing.
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