Based on lessons from recent disasters in Chicago and New York, where lively urban spaces helped communities to survive and recover, Michael Kimmelman suggests that neighborhood libraries could be designed with such a purpose in mind.
Bearing in mind lessons from the 1995 heat wave in Chicago and the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in New York, Kimmelman notes that "[p]laces that serve us well every day serve us best when disaster strikes. Health and safety go hand in hand with lively urban spaces. Invest in one, and you aid the other."
Kimmelman suggests we build more branch libraries with the express purpose of serving communities in times of disaster, and for our basic social and economic health. "With disaster in mind, they could be designed in the future with electrical systems out of harm’s way and set up with backup generators and solar panels, even kitchens and wireless mesh networks."
Read the full story: Next Time, Libraries Could Be Our Shelters From the Storm
Seven Brilliant Projects Keeping New Orleans Safe from Stormwater
20 years post Katrina, New Orleans has shored up and reinvented itself to absorb millions upon millions of gallons of stormwater. Their success holds lessons for landscape architects all over the world.
In a Warmer, Wetter and More Disaster-prone World: “Nature is the Greatest Designer”
A conversation with the American Society of Landscape Architects’ CEO Torey Carter-Conneen and board president Kona Gray.
‘Quality Work, Fast’: NC Gears up for Homebuilding After Helene, Trying to Avoid Past Pitfalls
The state will field bids to demolish, repair and rebuild homes in the mountains. After struggles in eastern NC, officials aim to chart a different course.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority