Passage of a bill in Berkeley that allows taller buildings to be built in the city's downtown illustrates changing attitudes about development amongst environmentalists.
Instead of merely opposing growth or development, environmental groups are increasingly focusing on directing that growth to places where it works or is more appropriate, according to this piece from the San Francisco Chronicle.
"A big reason for the success, I'll wager, is that the backers included the Sierra Club and Greenbelt Alliance, organizations with long track records and solid green reputations.
'The concept of environmentalism is maturing,' suggests Jeremy Madsen, Greenbelt Alliance's executive director.
The group until 1987 was known as People for Open Space; from the start, it took the position that growth should be steered toward existing cities, rather than farmland and bare hills. Only in the past decade has the alliance taken assertive steps regarding what happens inside the greenbelt."
FULL STORY: Younger greens reject old ideas about urbanity
Opinion: How California’s Environmental Law Empowers NIMBYs
Critics of a new provision calling “social noise” an environmental impact say the law can too easily be co-opted by anti-housing groups to block new development.
American Jobs to Build Electric Vehicles Excludes Miners
Mining jobs needed to produce the metals for processing into battery parts used to build electric vehicles in America will not be developed in the U.S. but in Australia, Brazil and Canada, mainly to avoid battles with environmentalists.
U.S. Opposition to New Development
New data from the 2015 Saint Index shows what projects provoke the most opposition in the United States when proposed "In your community."
New York Governor Advances Housing Plan Amid Stiff Suburban Opposition
Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious proposal to create more housing has once again run into a brick wall of opposition in New York’s enormous suburbs, especially on Long Island. This year, however, the wall may have some cracks.
The End of Single-Family Zoning in Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County is the latest jurisdiction in the country to effectively end single-family zoning.
The Quiet Housing Crisis in Rural America
While housing shortages in major cities are grabbing headlines, rural communities are seeing higher rates of growth in housing prices and a silently spreading homelessness crisis.
Federal Loan to Support San Diego Desalination Plant Overhaul
The financing will go toward funding an updated cooling system and ensuring the protection of local marine life.
Seattle Bus Lane Cameras Capture Over 100,000 Violations
An automated traffic enforcement pilot program caught drivers illegally using transit lanes more than 110,000 times in less than a year.
The Joy of Walking
An essay meditating on the simple pleasures of a good walk.
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Kingsville
Princeton Planning
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
