Planetizen Newswire
Keep up with essential planning news and commentary, delivered to your inbox every Monday and Thursday.
New Jersey
The pandemic's cumulative death toll in the U.S. does not include over 100,000 fatalities that are directly or indirectly attributable to COVID-19, according to a CDC report released Oct. 20 on the subject of "excess deaths."
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
A group of regional experts and advocates provide details on how a win by former Vice President Joe Biden might change the direction of the Gateway Project to repair the rail link between New Jersey and New York.
The Bond Buyer
New Jersey is now home to one of the "most stringent" environmental justice laws in the country.
Next City
There’s more than one way to be excluded from your community.
Shelterforce Magazine
Developers are baling the latest delays and cost increases for the Hudson Tunnel Project on uncertainty surrounding federal environmental review.
ENR New York
A 2016 law that locked in a specific amount of gas tax revenue for project funding every year has required a boost in the tax rate in New Jersey as drivers leave their car at home during the pandemic.
WPVI
COVID-19 deaths topped 5,000 in Los Angeles County last week as deaths continue to mount due to a hasty reopening after an early shutdown. The center of the of outbreak in California now shifts to the Central Valley.
Los Angeles Times
A reminder of the consequences of the pandemic on transit operations, in this case with an example of a highly used private bus service in New Jersey.
NorthJersey.com
A new report explores the untapped housing opportunities for the region around New York City, and suggests planning tools for adding hundreds of thousands of housing units without building hundreds of thousands of new buildings.
Regional Plan Association
As the virus surges throughout the South and West and heads north into the Midwest, the Northeast is the one region that has weathered the current phase of the pandemic the best. As of July 21, only one state in the U.S. is on track to contain COVID.
Patch
Almost three months ago, President Trump announced "sometime today we’ll do a quarantine, short term, two weeks, on New York, probably New Jersey, certain parts of Connecticut" to prevent viral spread to Florida. On Wednesday, the roles reversed.
The New York Times
Separate coronavirus studies from the University of California at Berkeley and Imperial College London published June 8 in the journal Nature show the life and health-saving value of domestic stay-at-home orders, global lockdowns, and other measures.
The Washington Post
Dr. Sara Cody, the Santa Clara County health officer widely credited for leading the Bay Area into issuing a 6-county shelter-in-place order on March 16, the nation's first, warns that the pace of reopening is too fast.
Los Angeles Times
After a 22% drop in housing starts in March, municipalities and state governments continue to assess whether or not housing construction is essential, weighing factors like workforce safety and availability of construction materials.
Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
Opponents of dense housing and public transit have seized on the disproportionate death toll originating from the epicenter of the nation's coronavirus outbreak. Is it time for the leaders of New York and New Jersey to admit they acted late?
Slate
As some governors open nonessential businesses, subjecting workers and customers to potential viral infection, others move beyond social distancing to the next steps, boxing in the coronavirus with testing, contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine.
The Washington Post
Communities have demanded access to clean water for decades, in some cases. The coronavirus pandemic is compounding the struggle and illustrating the inadequacy of most local government responses.
Vox
Delays have been part of the story with the American Dream mall in New Jersey since its earliest inception, and the mall has been lauded in the past for evolving to match the American retail landscape.
Business Insider
Part I was shutting down the economy on a multi-state basis in the absence of federal leadership. Part II will be opening them up in spite of federal assertiveness.
Politico
Many counties throughout the nation have recorded no deaths from COVID-19. A perception exists that population density is responsible for the massive death toll in New York and New Jersey and that exurban and rural counties may be spared.
The New York Times
