City leaders expressed enthusiastic support for the Climate Action Roadmap, a detailed plan for reducing carbon emissions, protecting the environment, and meeting other climate goals.
Boise's city council and mayor unanimously approved its new Climate Action Roadmap, a plan that "fleshes out the city’s ambitious goals with steps and projects in several focus areas, like transportation, water, and energy with goals in each section," as well as "a larger goal to have the community hit carbon neutrality by 2050." Margaret Carmel writes in BoiseDev that Mayor Laurel McLean calls the city's environmental and energy goals "a people issue," saying that "[i]f we want to thrive in the long term, we have to do everything we can to set ourselves up for success."
The roadmap "breaks down priorities for the city into different categories, ranking them from focusing on reducing emissions to increasing the city’s resilience to the impacts of climate change. For example, projects focused on energy are squarely focused on cutting CO2, while initiatives to address water are most important to keep the city functioning as the climate continues to warm."
"Each priority area in the road map has targets, opportunities, and ordered priorities for both the near and long term to meet the city’s goals." According to City Councilmember Patrick Bageant, the goals laid out in the plan "are attainable, they’re in order, they’re logical and it can be done. It’s not just a declaration of a wishlist. It’s an actual plan we will begin to execute."
FULL STORY: ‘It’s a people issue’: Boise adopts climate action plan, carbon neutrality goal
Assessing Prince George's County's Climate Action Plan
The Prince George's County draft Climate Action Plan includes ambitious goals and timetables, but falls short of recommended targets for emissions reductions in the transportation sector.
LA’s Trees Absorb More Carbon Than Expected, But Can’t Do It Alone
A USC study finds that Los Angeles’ urban trees absorb more carbon than expected, but while they provide crucial environmental benefits, they cannot replace the urgent need for systemic emissions reductions.
Data Center Emissions Far Outpace Tech Company Claims
In-house data centers owned by several major tech companies likely produce over six times as many greenhouse gas emissions as their owners estimate.
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