APA's bi-weekly update on legislative and public policy issues of interest to planners and communities.
This issue features: Brownfields bill set for final passage; Farm bill holds promise for planners and Smart Growth; and Heritage Area bills attract house ttention. " Most observers feared that brownfields legislation was once again doomed to legislative limbo. After the Senate approved a consensus compromise bill, S. 350, by a 99-0 vote, action in the House had stalled over provisions regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys ability to reassert authority over state-certified brownfield sites. But, intervention by the Bush Administration and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) late last week led to an unexpected agreement to push the Senate version to an expedited floor vote this week."
Thanks to Jason Jordan
Read the full story: From Washington...
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.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future
Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.
Officials claim feds 'rushed' Amtrak environmental review
Amtrak plans to move their Chicago maintenance facility from an industrial area to a residential one.
NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project
New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.
One Kentucky town’s secret to affordable housing
The Smoketown Community Land Trust has already built seven affordable homes for community members.
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