Plans to expand the amount of beach available in front of two hotels in Honolulu are meeting opposition from local surfers and environmentalists. But some say the beach has already been engineered beyond its natural state and more won't hurt.
Beach advocates are "taking a stand against a proposal by Kyo-Ya Hotels & Resorts to install T-shaped rock groins along the beach fronting the Sheraton Waikiki."
"Although still preliminary -- it would require approvals from the state as well as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -- Kyo-Ya has commissioned Sea Engineering Inc. to work on the proposal."
"The proposed Gray's Beach restoration project in Waikiki, as written up by Sea Engineering, would construct three T-head groins spanning 500 feet of shoreline, extending 160 feet from the existing seawall."
"Sand taken from offshore would be placed between the groins, adding more beach in front of both the Sheraton Waikiki and the Halekulani Hotel."
"Chip Fletcher, a professor and chair of the geology and geophysics department at the University of Hawaii, said he supports the T-groin proposal."
"'The Waikiki shoreline is not a natural shoreline any more,' said Fletcher. 'We have engineered it into its present configuration. But if we're going to maintain it as a usable resource, we need to employ engineering tools.'"
FULL STORY: Plan to alter Waikiki beach riles opposition
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.
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
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