An expose has uncovered the 'cloak-and-dagger tactics' being utilized in a $1 million campaign to defend Dallas's Museum Tower luxury condo building from claims that glare from its glass skin is a nuisance to the Nasher Sculpture Center.
"According to his Facebook page, Brandon Eley is from the Bronx, studied at Brooklyn College and now lives in Dallas."
"But Eley isn’t real."
"His fake Facebook profile is part of a more than $1 million legal and public relations campaign waged by the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System in its battle with the Nasher Sculpture Center over Museum Tower," report Steve Thompson and Gary Jacobson, who outline how a former television anchorman worked on behalf of the pension system (the building's owners) to manipulate public opinion about the tower's harmful glare through online comments.
"A housecleaning is in order at the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System, the tower’s tax-supported owner, starting with administrator Richard Tettamant and anyone complicit in the counterfeit Internet campaign," argues a subsequent editorial in The Dallas Morning News. "If the pension board wishes to salvage its reputation, and if it wants to broker a settlement with the Nasher over reflected glare from the condo tower, it needs a change at the top."
FULL STORY: Fake social media profiles part of Dallas pension fund’s public relations fight with Nasher
Critic: Improve Lighting to Improve Dallas Walkability
Architecture Critic Mark Lamster sets aside the complex issues of lane configurations and traffic calming to focus on a key aspect of walkability: proper lighting.
Texas State Bills Could Kill Transit Funding in Dallas, Austin
State lawmakers could pull funding from the state’s largest transit agency and the ambitious Project Connect, a voter-approved transit project in Austin.
North Texas Transit Leaders Tout Benefits of TOD for Growing Region
At a summit focused on transit-oriented development, policymakers discussed how North Texas’ expanded light rail system can serve as a tool for economic growth.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?
The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.
San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.
Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.
Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions