As part of its ongoing series on "Reimagining Infrastructure", Orion Magazine features five projects that show how a new generation of infrastructure projects are creatively integrating form with function to create community amenities.
From solar energy 'sunflowers' in Texas to a sewage treatment plant in California, "[t]he following projects challenge the maxim that infrastructure must be dull, distant, and often invisible, proving instead that it can be increasingly inventive and scaled to sizes that a community can appreciate," write the editors of Orion Magazine.
"These projects represent small steps toward addressing our nation’s aging infrastructure, but they also help set a higher bar for how we think about it in an increasingly finite world."
FULL STORY: The Art of Infrastructure
California's Canal Solar Projects Aim to Conserve Resources and Expand Clean Energy
California’s Project Nexus has begun generating electricity from solar panels installed over irrigation canals, with researchers and state agencies exploring statewide expansion to conserve water and boost clean energy production.
Renewable Energy Overtakes Coal for First Time
Solar and wind power generated close to a third of U.S. electricity supplies in 2024.
California Leads in Solar Rooftops
A combination of state and local incentives and building code mandates has helped California far outpace other states in residential rooftop solar permits.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.
Savannah Reduces Speed Limits on Almost 100 City Streets
The historic Georgia city is lowering speed limits in an effort to reduce road fatalities.
A Park Reborn: Resilience and Renewal in Fire-Stricken Altadena
Rebuilt in just two months after the devastating Eaton Fire, Loma Alta Park now stands as a symbol of community resilience and renewal, even as some residents hope recovery efforts will continue to support housing stability and long-term equity.
Spain Moves to Ban 66,000 Airbnbs
The national government is requiring the short-term rental operator to remove thousands of illegal listings from its site as part of an effort to stem a growing housing crisis.
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Clovis
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City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
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Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
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