Headlined by vertical (and horizontal) sprawl in China, India, and elsewhere, the global building boom requires vast quantities of concrete and asphalt. And to get those materials, sand must be taken from the environment.

A key ingredient in concrete and asphalt, sand needs to be mined, usually by dredging from riverbanks, lakeshores, and the like. As demand rises, unsustainable extraction can impact ecosystems, natural features, and even human infrastructure.
Vince Beiser writes, "Just about every apartment block, skyscraper, office tower and shopping mall that gets built anywhere from Beijing to Lagos is made with concrete, which is essentially just sand and gravel glued together with cement."
In China, Beiser chronicles the ongoing woes of Poyang Lake, a key regional site for sand mining. "Different types of sand mining inflict different types of damage. Dredging from river beds destroys the habitat of bottom-dwelling creatures and organisms. The churned-up sediment clouds the water, suffocating fish and blocking the sunlight that sustains underwater vegetation."
Local sand mining fueled our own urban boom. "For most of the 20th century there were many such sand mines along the California coast, but in the late 1980s the federal government shut them down due to the erosion being suffered by the Golden State's famous beaches." In addition, sand mining can compromise the integrity of infrastructure: "a 1998 study found that each tonne of aggregate mined from a California river caused $3 in infrastructure damage – costs that are borne by taxpayers."
FULL STORY: Sand mining: the global environmental crisis you’ve probably never heard of

New York Governor Advances Housing Plan Amid Stiff Suburban Opposition
Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious proposal to create more housing has once again run into a brick wall of opposition in New York’s enormous suburbs, especially on Long Island. This year, however, the wall may have some cracks.

Rethinking the Role of Parking in the American City
In cities big and small, the tide is turning against sprawling parking lots, car-centric development, and minimum parking mandates.

Friday Eye Candy: 20 AI-Generated Cityscapes
AI-generated images are creating new landscapes and cityscapes, capable of inspiring awe or fear.

Proposed Pool Would Make an Olympic-Sized Play Area in the San Francisco Bay
The San Francisco Bay is usually an undesirable place to swim, except for a hearty few. A development proposal seeking assistance at the state level would add a pool to the Bay’s waters to make the idea of going for a swim more appealing.

Chicagoland Transit Agencies Call for State Funding as Budget Shortfall Looms
Illinois transit agencies want to see changes to a law requiring them to collect half of their revenue from transit fares, arguing that low ridership and staffing shortages will lead to a massive budget gap without intervention.

Panel: Minneapolis Zoning Updates Should Reflect Mixed-Use Future
A discussion of post-pandemic changes in work and commuting concluded that the city’s overhaul of its zoning code should be less restrictive with land uses.
Princeton Planning
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Houston-Galveston Area Council
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
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City of Lomita
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