Around the country, small, rural towns are experiencing the same political conflicts related to land use and planning more commonly associated with the city.
[Updated 3-10-2016] "The affordable housing crunch and fire-breathing NIMBYism often associated with America’s rapidly gentrifying cities has reached our resort towns — from the Rocky Mountains to Northern Michigan," according to an article by Bill Bradley. "Small towns, they’re just like us!" adds Bradley.
Green lists Traverse City, Michigan; Portland, Maine; and Breckenridge, Colorado as examples of small cities facing challenges more commonly perceived as urban. The question posed by the article, and by the residents experiencing these new dynamics firsthand: "What happens when the affordable backwoods dream town turns into an urban destination?"
After reading Bradley's article, follow up with recent coverage from Planetizen on these subjects in Traverse City, Portland, and Breckenridge.
[The article was updated to give proper credit to the author of the Next City article.]
Read the full story: Small-Town America Is Facing Big-City Problems
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.
Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners
Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents
NYC votes to cut outdoor dining red tape, speed up permitting
New York City also voted to allow the Department of Transportation to begin work on urgent projects before notifying elected officials.
California appears to reject Prop. 45
The proposition would have expanded the projects that qualify for a streamlined environmental review, effectively paring down the California Environmental Quality Act.
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