Recent attempts to "greenwash" Wal-Mart in the media don't hold water, write Ruben Garcia and Andrea Buffa.
"Wal-Mart has been getting some great press lately. At the beginning of the week, newspapers were full of stories about Wal-Mart's plan to ask its suppliers to measure and reduce their carbon emissions for the benefit of the environment.
It's time to counter some of the hype about Wal-Mart's sustainability...the newly "sustainable" Wal-Mart is still allowing its products to be made in sweatshops and is still devastating local communities. But even if we look only at the environmental issues - especially the issue of climate change - Wal-Mart is still a problem. That's because despite the company's laudable environmental policies, its entire business model is unsustainable, and in fact, extremely harmful to the environment.
One problem with the model is that it induces people to drive more and to drive longer distances to do their shopping. Because of the huge size of Wal-Mart super centers, they take up very large amounts of land, so they often have to be built on the outskirts of cities and towns. This means people will get in their cars to go shopping rather than walk to the store. The additional driving induced by big box stores significantly increases greenhouse gas emissions.
Another major problem with the Wal-Mart model is that the company buys so many of its products from suppliers on the other side of the globe, rather than buying them from local farms and factories. This isn't just bad for local suppliers; it also means products have to travel thousands upon thousands of miles to get to Wal-Mart's shelves. When garlic is shipped to Wal-Mart stores in California from China instead of from Gilroy, then that much more fuel is used and that much more CO2 is emitted than if the products were purchased locally."
FULL STORY: Wal-Mart: Still Unsustainable

San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.

Has President Trump Met His Match?
Doug Ford, the no-nonsense premier of Canada's most populous province, Ontario, is taking on Trump where it hurts — making American energy more expensive.

Study: London ULEZ Rapidly Cleaning up Air Pollution
Expanding the city’s ultra low-emission zone has resulted in dramatic drops in particle emissions in inner and outer London.

San Jose Mayor Takes Dual Approach to Unsheltered Homeless Population
In a commentary published in The Mercury News, Mayor Matt Mahan describes a shelter and law enforcement approach to ending targeted homeless encampments within Northern California's largest city.

Atlanta Changes Beltline Rail Plan
City officials say they are committed to building rail connections, but are nixing a prior plan to extend the streetcar network.

Are Black Mayors Being Pushed Out of Office?
The mayors of New York, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh all stand to lose their seats in the coming weeks. They also all happen to be Black.
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.
Resource Assistance for Rural Environments
City of Edmonds
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research