The Electronic Policy Network rounds up the best recent developments in the sprawl debate, with links to the latest research and reports.
The concept of "urban sprawl" is often likened to Justice Stewart's take on obscenity: hard to define, easy to recognize. Sprawl is in the headlines a lot these days, making the cover of National Geographic's July issue and as the subject of a report on New Community Design by the National Governors Association. Those who claim to "know it when they see it" often point to certain common denominators as both the causes and consequences of sprawl: dependence on the automobile, inefficient use of natural resources, and the strict separation of residential and commercial areas. Recently, however, researchers have begun to challenge much of the conventional wisdom about the forces that fuel sprawl.
Thanks to Joanna Mareth
Read the full story: Rethinking Sprawl
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.
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.
Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor
Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
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
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority