As the world's population urbanizes, rural areas are being abandoned. But they don't have to sit empty and unused, according to this piece from GOOD.
Noam Ross argues that the rural areas that are losing population still have an active role to play in maintaining a healthy global ecosystem.
"The millions of acres left abandoned represent a changed relationship with the landscape and a societal and economic opportunity. We can use these lands to re-invest in natural capital and biodiversity but to be successful, such land restoration will not be a passive process. It will require active management, capital, skill, and technology, but it will leave us safer, healthier, and more prosperous.
Active investment in natural systems is necessary in order to ensure a healthy supply of ecosystem services. Ecosystem services, such as crop pollination, water purification, and flood protection, are the benefits we receive from natural processes."
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Faced With Declining Population, Japanese Village Is Repopulated By Scarecrows
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Rural areas have been losing population for decades, creating what some are calling a "rural brain drain". According to this article, the hollowing out of these rural areas will have negative impacts beyond the borders of those small towns.
Rural New York Explores Creative Housing Solutions
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City officials say the pause on permits for redevelopment projects aims to stop the displacement of long-term residents.
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Learning From Wildfire Evacuations
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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.
Berkeley County
Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA)
Ada County Highway District
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland