Thousands of Louisiana residents are being forced to retreat from their rapidly disappearing coastal communities.
This article from On Earth magazine visits the coast to find communities and their histories being deserted.
"Louisiana's bottom-most ribbon is literally sinking, and taking communities with it. According to David Burley, an assistant professor of sociology at Southeastern Louisiana University, the Pointe-au-Chien tribe's experience is being replicated throughout the region. "Tropical storms batter these places like they didn't do 20 years ago because of the land loss," says Burley, whose 2010 book Losing Ground documents the phenomenon. "Damage accumulates, accumulates, accumulates, and then you have the oil spill and the continuing decline of fishing." In 2007, the Christian Science Monitor reported that 10,000 Louisianans have migrated northward as coastal lands have disappeared. Two experts I checked with -- Burley and Kristina Peterson, a senior researcher at the University of New Orleans' Center for Hazards Assessment, Response, and Technology -- believe this represents a vast undercount."
Read the full story: 'The Land is Washing Back to the Sea'
Louisiana Approves Coastal Restoration Master Plan
The latest update to a state-mandated coastal protection and restoration plan calls for wetlands restoration and new levees to protect communities from flooding.
94% of wetlands could lose federal protections under proposed EPA rule
The ruling would only allot federal protections to waterways that flow nearly everyday, which few wetlands do.
Beavers and bobcats populate a 210-acre 'secret garden' in Las Vegas
The Clark County Wetlands Park is home to over 300 species of birds and 70 species of mammals.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Trump administration unlawfully slashed $7 billion in clean energy grants, judge rules
The Environmental Protection Agency ended the Solar For All program, which provided the grants, after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Record-breaking wildlife overpass in Colorado brings 91% reduction in animal collisions
Prior to the overpass, vehicles were hitting one deer per day on Colorado’s Interstate 25.
California lawmakers approve just 5% of much-needed LA28 transportation funding
State legislators appear just as unwilling as Trump to pay for Olympics-related transportation projects.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello