Blair Kamin looks at "Go to 2040", a new regional plan for the Chicago area that he says has few goals to get excited about and "reflects an era of scarce resources."
Kamin suggests that the plan reflects an era of "lowered expectations about what planning can achieve."
The plan includes stabs at smart growth, but seems to place a considerable influence on road maintenance. Kamin says it calls for "a new emphasis on fixing existing roads, raising the state gas tax to fund road maintenance and transit, and increasing the Chicago region's share of the state's road funding pie."
Kamin quips, "the message from Go to 2040 seems to be: 'Make no big plans. We have no money.'"
Read the full story: Regional planners unveil vision for Chicago area in 2040
A New Emphasis on Compact Communities in Chicago
Branden Klayko says that Chicago's new GOTO 2040 plan is a bold vision that includes extensive infill development and an emphasis on creating compact communities around transit.
Make No Little Plans, 100 Years Later
As the 100-year anniversary of the writing of the Burnham Plan for Chicago approaches, the city and its suburbs are thinking big about how to improve the city.
Keanu Reeves, Daniel Burnham Dream No Longer a Reality
Keanu Reeves will no longer portray Daniel Burnham in a film adaptation of The Devil in the White City.
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.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
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.
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