Jungles blasted clear during the Vietnam war four decades ago are now at the center of a debate in the country about how forests should be recovered.
The battle is between native and non-native trees, business interests and local villagers.
"Thirty-five years after North Vietnamese tanks entered Ho Chi Minh City - formerly Saigon - and four decades after U.S. forces destroyed or damaged large swaths of Vietnamese forest with bombs and defoliants, this landscape is a window into Vietnam's struggle to regenerate its once-abundant forests. With much of the country's woodlands and jungle lost or damaged over the past half-century by war, the spread of agriculture, and logging, Vietnam's forestry experts are split over what the nation's new forests should look like.
On the one side are those who would replace the lost forests with acacia and eucalyptus plantations - alien, monocultural forms of regeneration that supply abundant wood products but support little biodiversity. On the other side are scientists and conservationists who would like to regenerate forests of Hopea odorata and other native species, which are slow-growing but support a far wider variety of indigenous plants, animals, birds, and insects."
FULL STORY: In War-Scarred Landscape, Vietnam Replants Its Forests
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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.
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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.