Michael Tomasky asks the fundamental question of whether MA Gov. Deval Patrick overreacted by requiring Boston area residents to "shelter-in-place" as all forces were mobilized to apprehend the one remaining suspecting in the Boston Marathon bombing.
A lone suspect succeeded in shutting-down a city for almost a day. Smart? "Now any would-be terrorist will take it as a challenge to get a city shut down", Tomasky points out.
And how long is this going to go on? Through the weekend? Seriously?
The shut-down was lifted at 6 PM Boston time. No doubt the economic costs will be tabulated, along with the actual mobilization search costs. The suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, succeeded in doing to Boston what only a hurricane could do to New York.
Simone Foxman and S. Mitra Kalita don't appear to question the decision when they write in Quartz that the governor's "decision to shut down the city of Boston and nearby suburbs—the tenth-largest metropolitan area of the US and the ninth-largest by GDP—may be scary, but Americans are growing ever-familiar with lockdown mode."
The irony is that going to such extreme efforts did not result in the suspect's capture. However, while Tsarnaev wasn't apprehended, nor did he harm anyone, and in that result the shut-down was successful as the suspect and his brother had earlier shot and killed an MIT police officer.
Foxman and S. Mitra Kalita recall when New York City was immobilized by a snow storm on Dec. 26, 2010, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was blamed. They conclude that "the decision not to shut down—for weather- or crime-related incidents—arguably produces even greater outrage."
FULL STORY: Was Shutting Down Boston Really a Good Idea?

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

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.”

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?
TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events
Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan
The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.
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)