A new book from the Manhattan Institute, available for free download, argues that cities will have to full embrace experimentation and evaluation to be true laboratories of innovation.
Edward Glaeser pens the Foreword to a new book, The Next Urban Renaissance, available for free from the Manhattan Institute:
"What public-policy innovations can make cities better places to live? A large number of American cities—from New York to San Francisco—have experienced remarkable rebirths over the past 30 years. But their success has made housing less affordable and traffic congestion worse. Even America’s most successful cities contain large numbers of poorer citizens left behind by the urban renaissance. Can creative public policy reduce the downsides of density and improve economic opportunity in urban America?"
According to Glaeser, the book offers a collection of essays on these subjects, but with an eye toward the private sector: "The common theme of the papers is to innovate, evaluate, and leverage the remarkable private talent that is so abundant in America’s great cities. Public capacity is sharply limited; the ingenuity of urban entrepreneurs seems practically boundless. Local governments should be more entrepreneurial and do more to use the talents of the entrepreneurs around them."
Read the full story: THE NEXT URBAN RENAISSANCE
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.
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.
Non-stop party: Chicago voters weigh permanent festival grounds
A stable place for bleachers, stages and drainage may streamline the setup and teardown of large events.
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