Improving our cities and suburbs is just as important to environmental sustainability as regulating pollution or conserving undeveloped land, argues Kaid Benfield.
"In order to have any chance at environmental sustainability, we need strong cities and walkable suburbs," writes Benfield. "They enable living patterns that save energy, reduce automobile dependence and tailpipe emissions, slow the spread of pavement across watersheds, and conserve land, compared to spread-out suburbs. But, for cities to serve this function, they need to work for people. And I mean people of all sorts in an increasingly diversifying population, not just creative-class MIllennials with no school-age kids and well-to-do Baby Boomers moving back downtown."
So urban issues that might appear to have no connection to "the environment" - like improving public schools, reducing crime, or protecting affordable housing - are, in fact, important to building sustainability.
"Sustainability isn’t just about numbers, and it isn’t always explicitly about 'the environment,' by which most of us mean issues related to pollution and resource consumption," adds Benfield. "If our urban solutions don’t work for people – if we don’t make cities wonderful places to live, work, and play – they will never sustain enough favor to work for the planet."
FULL STORY: City sustainability is about the environment, even when it isn't

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

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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