Rhode Island Department of Education promotes 'Smart Growth' principles in School Facilities Planning Guidelines.
As a new school year gets underway, communities applying for school construction aid in Rhode Island will find a new emphasis on building guidelines that promote smart growth concepts and asks school districts to consider the impact of sprawl in planning for school space needs. These guidelines, which encourage the renovation of existing facilities where feasible and the siting of new schools away from remote locations and closer to neighborhoods where more children can walk, were originally adopted in 2002 following a recommendation of the Governor’s Growth Planning Council on which Grow Smart Rhode Island has been a participant and an advocate. This month, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) fully integrated the recommendations into its updated School Construction Aid Guidelines that can be downloaded from their website.
Thanks to John Flaherty
FULL STORY: State urges school districts to plan smarter

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

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

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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