A writer laments the advances made by data collection in cities—once a location where people could maintain or seek anonymity.

“Cities are our paradises of anonymity, a place for both self-erasure and self-reinvention. But soon, cities may fall first in the disappearance, or at least a radical remaking, of privacy,” writes Quentin Hardy to introduce an editorial about the dangers of “Big Data.”
The article goes on to examine several examples of occasions when public data collection crosses into the territory of personal information collection, including technology that scans license plates on the way in an out of parking lots, another that tracks the movement of individuals through shopping malls, and the information that has been gleaned from bike rentals in London (or, for that matter, New York City).
“What we have at this moment is an exceptional awareness of where we are going: It is a little bit as if, circa 1880, we’d been able to say ‘soon we’ll banish night, because our cities will have electric light.’ The only real loss would not be thinking through the implications.”
FULL STORY: How Urban Anonymity Disappears When All Data Is Tracked

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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