News

"It is illegal to operate a mobile phone to talk, text or listen to music while crossing the street in Montclair, California."

https://www.planetizen.com/node/97292?utm_source=newswire&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news-02222018&mc_cid=d33e1a08b5&mc_eid=b9p0fICGm0

 

The Mass. Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA-MA) and Mass. Association of Planning Directors (MAPD) are co-sponsoring this FREE movie and networking event:

"Citizen Jane: Battle for the City". This documentary about Jane Jacobs and the battle to save Greenwich Village during the era of Urban Renewal got a 94% rating from Rotten Tomatoes!  Please RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planners-movie-and-meet-up-citizen-jane-battle-for-the-city-tickets-42470905622

Wednesday March 7, 2018

Capitol Theatre, 204 Mass. Ave., Arlington, MA  

5:30-6:30  Networking, appetizers and cash bar

6:30-8:00  Movie

8:00-9:00  Discussion

By Bob Zimmerman and Elizabeth Henry    JANUARY 04, 2018

... the most profitable use of the circle, sandwiched between the South End and South Boston, may lie in not developing it. City coffers would be in better shape if we scrape up the pavement, create a wetland, and invite the public into a vibrant open space...,.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2018/01/04/the-best-use-widett-circle-don-develop-all/PKw5rstNGe4siQ2LxW18kM/story.html 

In September, 238 applicants dreamed the impossible dream of attracting the second headquarters of Amazon, along with some 40,000 jobs. Today, all but 20 of those applicants will have to find a new quest...it had whittled the list of possible homes for its second headquarters to 20, including centers of technology like Boston and some surprise locations like Columbus, Ohio

https://www.planetizen.com/node/96777?utm_source=newswire&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news-01222018&mc_cid=70a7a36f0a&mc_eid=b9p0fICGm0

"The most essential designed component of New York is not a skyscraper or a station, but the street. That basic workhorse of public space carries people, freight, and vehicles on its surface; water, sewage, power, gas, steam, and data below. It is a complex but archaic machine — improvised, mistreated, and endlessly patched up. It needs an overhaul, and it needs one now."

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/what-is-a-city-street-and-what-will-it-become.html

There’s a certain type of house that people love to hate. They're called "McMansions," and architecture critic Kate Wagner has dedicated her website, McMansion Hell, to explaining why these houses rub people the wrong way. This was one of our most in-depth documentaries of 2017. Read the story (and see the video):

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/06/26/the-ultimate-symbol-of-the-pre-recession-boom-is-back/?utm_term=.8f376904a310

 

"Over the past century the automobile has turned out to be the ultimate disruptor to 

human lives and our civic way of life."

 https://medium.com/cityoftomorrow/together-lets-take-back-the-streets-6e8e39ffae2c

“The social and emotional cost fell on poor people and people of color,” says University of Richmond’s Robert Nelson."

"We need openness and clarity about what the green belt does and its role in the undersupply of housing. Then we can ask if the price of green belt is one worth paying. If so, we can at least maintain the green belt without spurious justifications such as growing food and mitigating urban heat islands. If not, we can start to debate a new approach to green belt policy, which might include concentrating on corridors of green with improved public access, as in the Lee Valley Regional Park."

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/beware-new-justifications-for-green-belt-what-we-need-is-a-new-approach/

Nearly a quarter of Houston's population lives in poverty—a scenario five times more likely for Black and Latino children than white children, according to a new report from Mayor Sylvester Turner's office. 

A city task force has proposed an ambitious public jobs program as a way to make an immediate impact.

https://www.planetizen.com/node/96044?utm_source=newswire&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news-12042017&mc_cid=e64f0c0c60&mc_eid=b9p0fICGm0