As the level of golf participation falls, a new course is rising in a park in the Bronx with the assistance of $97 million in public funds. Is a notoriously expensive, and elitist, sport the best use of land in a borough with a 30% poverty rate?
The controversy over the construction of a golf course, to be operated by Trump National and International Golf Clubs no less, on a major portion of Ferry Point Park in the southeastern section of the Bronx is not new. But with its budget swelling and recent news about nefarious links to a contracting company the city is using on the project and elevated levels of methane gas found just outside the golf course's perimeter, the course controversy has roared back to life.
"[T]hese recent issues," says Ginia Bellafante, "would seem entirely peripheral to the more
essential question of whether spending tens of millions of dollars and
turning over acres and acres of land to a sport whose hourly caloric
expenditure falls short of considerably less expensive forms of exercise
- Ultimate Frisbee, for instance, or jogging - is really the maximally
efficient use of the city's resources."
"As it happens, the development of the course is causing Ferry Point Park
to stand as one of the more egregious symbols of class division in a
city already so famously replete with them."
FULL STORY: In the Bronx, Throwing $97 Million Down 18 Holes

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

Vehicle-related Deaths Drop 29% in Richmond, VA
The seventh year of the city's Vision Zero strategy also cut the number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes by half.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

The Ratio of Older People to Children Grew in Every State
Older adults outnumber youth in 11 U.S. states.

LA Transit Ridership Plummets Amidst ICE Raids
LA Metro’s bus and rail lines are seeing up to 15 percent lower ridership in the wake of violent immigration arrests.

A New Texas Neighborhood is Powered by Geothermal Energy
The 7,500-home development claims to be Austin’s ‘first zero energy planned community.’
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)