Christine Green reports on the ways in which transportation and planning professionals in the Washington D.C. area are working alongside public health professionals to tackle the obesity epidemic.
With low-income communities and communities of color suffering from higher rates of obesity and chronic disease in the D.C./Baltimore metropolitan area and throughout the country, Green highlights efforts by officials in Prince George's County, Maryland, and Fairfax, Virginia to increase access to healthy eating and expand opportunities for people to be physically active.
"Whether it's questions of commuting or questions of parks, transportation and planning professionals make decisions that affect travel and open spaces every day. These decisions need to be viewed as public health decisions."
Read the full story: Planners are the new public health officials
State Supreme Court Clears Way for Defunct Airport Redevelopment in Maryland
The legal controversies over a zoning amendment approved in 2019 went all the way to the top court in the state of Maryland, but by the time the court ruled, the Bowie City Council had already repealed the amendment in question.
Zoning Controversy Ahead of November Election in Prince George's County, Maryland
The Prince George's County Council is facing a dramatic overhaul in the November election, so current councilmembers are trying to solidify their zoning legacy, while making it harder for future councilmembers to do the same.
Washington Commanders Looking to the Periphery for a New Place to Play
The suburbanization of the National Football League continues.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
'I can't live in this:' Mississippi town besieged by power plant noise
A plant powering Elon Musk’s xAI data centers is subjecting Southaven, Mississippi residents to ceaseless noise.
Battered from federal attacks, Louisiana's offshore wind industry refuses to give up
State Representative Joe Orgeron expressed hope that the state could revitalize its wind industry once President Trump leaves office.
Data center developers are using lawsuits, cash offers to ‘overwhelm’ rural America
Newsrooms in five states worked together to uncover the tactics big tech developers use to buy land from reluctant communities.
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.
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority