High rise apartment construction is set to take off again in Chicago, though it's unclear for how long and whether the resulting projects will have a positive lasting impact on the city.
"Nearly three years after the financial crisis froze the skyline in place and transformed the grandiose dream of the Chicago Spire into an embarrassing hole in the ground, the city is gearing up for a high-rise apartment building boom - or boomlet, depending how big this much-ballyhooed surge of construction really turns out to be.
The renewed activity is good news for the recession-battered building trades and a city whose books are splattered with red ink. But for the urban environment, the likely outcome has all the makings of a typical Chicago construction surge -- equal parts enthralling and exasperating."
Though some of the projects show promise, others suffer from the same design flaws and economic miscalculations that would repeat the mistakes of the recent past, according to this piece from the Chicago Tribune.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
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.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont