Eminent domain -- even to build much-needed schools -- has become a political tool, and not a planning tool in New Haven.
"New Haven needs improved schools. But the 10-year, $1 billion school construction and renovation program looks suspiciously like a case of the city's auctioning off large portions of itself mainly to procure hundreds of millions of dollars from the state. Developers, contractors, architects, and school administrators all benefit nicely, but neighborhood well-being and sound planning principles are almost entirely ignored.... The mayor has failed to give the professionals in the City Plan Department the authority to make sure the planning of each new or expanded school enhances, rather than detracts from, its neighborhood."
Thanks to The Practice of New Urbanism
Read the full story: IS CITY SERVED WELL BY SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAM? NO: Neighborhoods pay price
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
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.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello