Before San Diego can begin to fix its "busted sidewalks and busted sidewalk policies," the city is embarking on a high-tech $1 million effort to assess the quality of its pedestrian infrastructure.
Beginning last week, teams of local college student engineers started fanning out across San Diego as part of a year-long effort to assess the state of each of the city's sidewalks.
Equipped with Spectra Precision MobileMapper 120 GPS units, the students will "map cracks and tree roots uplifting the sidewalks and beam the information back to city staff within 18 inches of the spot," reports Liam Dillon. "Ultimately, the data will go into an algorithm that scores the condition of each sidewalk and rank them citywide to prioritize fixes."
Read the full story: San Diego Doesn’t Know How Many Sidewalks It Has
How to Integrate Light Rail and Bus Rapid Transit for Walkability and Housing
Better integration between San Diego's various transit modes—trolley (light rail), bus, bus rapid transit, and active transit—are key to increasing use and housing options, argues AVRP planner Howard Blackson III.
Dallas suburbs are turning their downtowns into small towns
Four Texas towns are embracing walkability and density in their downtowns.
Learning loss and urban schools, part 2
Did test scores in progressive cities drop more post-COVID than test scores in moderate ones?
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