Be a citizen, not just a consumer.
Scott Doyon talks about people's reaction to the redevelopment of a beloved tavern in his city: "Reacting in oh-so-predictable knee-jerk fashion to the usual melange of click-baity headlines, insufficient detail, and news posts missing the nuance of the story, people went nuts."
"Evil developers! No respect for history! Density, density, density! No matter, I thought. The story will get clarified and people will come to recognize that, rather than a curse, what we’re witnessing is a blessing that will not only help endow the tavern’s next century, it will replace an acre of asphalt car storage with both people and neighborhood-serving commercial enterprise. In short, it will deliver all the things people keep saying they want."
"But I was wrong. Even as the story’s details got ironed out, people were still angry in ways I just couldn’t fathom."
Doyon goes on to talk about NIMBYs' frozen-in-amber delusion and how to navigate through to placemaking.
FULL STORY: We’re all complicit in change. So now what?

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.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

The French Solution to Congested Tunnels: Make Them Car-Free
Bay Area transportation officials keep expanding car capacity. Lyon’s Croix Rousse Tunnel offers a different way.

Missouri Governor Reverses Anti-Discrimination Housing Policies
A new state law bars cities from prohibiting source-of-income discrimination against tenants using Section 8 housing vouchers.

USDOT Launches Unfunded 'SAFE ROADS' Program
The program targets “distractions” and “political messages or artwork,” and paves the way for autonomous vehicles.
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