The Republic National Convention dominated the news last week, and for good reason. There was also eye candy for New York transit advocates and lots of new housing research to enjoy.
The 2016 version of the Republic National Convention made its visit to Cleveland last week, and while the mainstream media focused on the speeches, urbanism-focused media focused on the up-and-down recovery of Cleveland. Don't forget the Republic Party's official 2016 platform, however, which lays out a policy agenda of consequence for the federal government's approach to the built environment.
Making the rounds on some of Planetizen's favorite websites last week were dueling takes on the housing market and a bunch of fancy new renderings for a proposed $27 billion redesign project for the New York subway. Finally, the National league of Cities did a semantic analysis of 100 "State of the City" speeches.
For more information on the stories in the latest Planetizen Week in Review:
Republicans Reveal an Anti-Urban, Anti-Public Transit Platform
Study: Bureaucracy Restricts Housing Supply
Study: Land Use Regulation Restricts Housing Supply
Ambitious Design Overhaul Proposed for New York Subway Stations and Cars
What Mayors Talk About When Everyone Is Listening
Read the full story: Planetizen Week in Review: July 25, 2016
Study: Bureaucracy Restricts Housing Supply
A recent study by Trulia concentrates on elasticity (i.e., the rate at which housing stock grows, relative to demand), and arrives at the conclusion that bureaucracy, not regulation, is responsible for rising housing prices.
How Houston Achieved Lot Size Reform
Nolan Gray of George Mason University and Adam A. Millsap of the Charles Koch Institute write about a recent article they authored in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.
How Much Does it Cost to Rent an Apartment, Anyway?
Geoff Boeing of the University of Southern California writes about a recent article he co-authored in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.
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.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
Post election, Texas is no longer Musk’s 'AI oasis'
Elon Musk dolled out $446 million on the 2026 midterms, the most ever spent by a non-canidate.
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
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