University of Maryland professor Roger Lewis discusses Germany's smart growth strategies and compares the results with urban sprawl in the U.S.
Germany, in many ways a laudable model of smart growth, has well-established urbanization traditions embodied in public policies and strong land-use regulations...German cities and towns have distinct edges, unambiguous perimeter boundaries where urbanized land meets undeveloped countryside.Compare this with U.S. towns, cities and suburbs. There's no such thing as a crisply defined city edge. Our amorphous urban peripheries bleed into the landscape. Unsightly, traffic-clogged fingers of commercial development reach far out into the countryside and are replete with fast-food outlets, strip malls, gas stations, car dealers, big-box retail stores, warehouses and vast surface parking lots."
Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan
FULL STORY: Urban Planning: It's Time for a Foreign Concept to Hit Home in the U.S.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
5 New England states march closer to 800 megawatt wind energy project
Securing federal approval for the project may be complicated under the Trump administration, which has historically been hostile towards domestic wind power.
Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project
The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association