Marc Herman writes that cities in Spain used the housing bubble as a way to finance major infrastructure projects that now, after the real estate crash, they really can't afford.
Herman says that while the crisis in the U.S. has primarily impacted homeowners, city governments are feeling the hit the worst in Spain. Herman digs into the case of the unfinished Castellon Airport:
"Castellon Airport has become one of the better-known examples of Spain's so-called "white elephant" problem. Across the country, local governments in the European nation of 44 million are saddled with thousands of publicly funded construction projects made in the starrier moments of a mid-2000s property boom."
Herman asks if the boom was just exuberance, or if there is corruption underlying the problem.
Read the full story: Spain’s Vacant Airport Typifies European Woes
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.
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.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
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