Can planners and architects build a better model of suburbia? Long Island Index thinks so, and has designed a contest to retrofit parts of asphalt laden suburban Long Island. Ideas are discussed in this NYT blog on design and architecture.
Allison Arieff suggests that the word "suburb has outlived its usefulness as a descriptive term - and as a model for future planning."
"Suburbs continue to be designed for homogeneity even though they're no longer homogeneous at all, and in fact have become increasingly varied in type, density, infrastructure and demographics."
Noting that "Long Island is the third most segregated suburban region in the country" and the home of the a town so closely associated with suburbia, Levittown, it provides an excellent venue for planners to test their skills
"The aim of Build a Better Burb, says Ann Golob, director of the Long Island Index, was "to help Long Islanders visualize what our region might look like if we boldly reconsidered how we build here."
Thanks to Palo Alto Online
FULL STORY: Blueprints for a Better ‘Burb'

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‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
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The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
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Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
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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.

Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research