Due to complexity of the issues related to our food system, altering the food system requires the type of interdisciplinary, comprehensive thinking at which urban planners excel.
The Urban Farm Hub team writes, "Urban planners contain the exact right mix of technical and professional skills that are capable of altering the food system. While changes will not happen overnight, and the critical nature of the issues brought by the current food system does not allow for proverbial dragging one's feet for solutions. Improving the food system will require a mix of data analysis, land use tactics, environmental system planning, policy innovation, economic development and urban design to unleash the power that growing food withholds for regional communities."
Thanks to Ashley DeForest
FULL STORY: Planners Poised to Make Food Systems More Sustainable

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Waymo Gets Permission to Map SF’s Market Street
If allowed to operate on the traffic-restricted street, Waymo’s autonomous taxis would have a leg up over ride-hailing competitors — and counter the city’s efforts to grow bike and pedestrian on the thoroughfare.

Parklet Symposium Highlights the Success of Shared Spaces
Parklets got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the concept was translated to outdoor dining programs that offered restaurants a lifeline during the shutdown.

Federal Homelessness Agency Places Entire Staff on Leave
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is the only federal agency dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service