Texas
How the National Flood Insurance Program Sabotaged Itself
Having charged low rates during years of bumper development, the National Flood Insurance Program worked at cross-purposes with itself while development continued on.
Dallas Moves Forward With New Subway and Streetcar Line
A $1.3 billion subway plan is slated for completion in 2024, while a new streetcar line will connect downtown's existing routes.
State Budget Delivered Blow to Impoverished Texas Exurbs
Along the Mexican border, Texas "colonias" have often gone without basic infrastructure. Saying it'll cut bureaucracy, Governor Greg Abbott removed funding for a program that helps residents access government services.
Harvey Flooding Unlikely to Depress Houston's Housing Market
Vigorous continued demand for Houston homes left some realtors surprised after the city endured catastrophic flooding. For a lot of new construction, elevated homes may become the norm.
FEMA to Buy Flooded Houston Homes
In the hopes of helping some Houston homeowners rebuild in more sustainable living places, FEMA will buy some homes flooded during Hurricane Harvey.
Preserving the Character of San Antonio's Near West Side
Latino activists look to preserve a 'Chicano epicenter,' recently given the designation of a UNESCO site.
Political Sorting: Americans Moving to Places That Match Their Views
Americans are more likely to relocate to places where residents share their politics. One man is making a business out of helping conservatives move to conservative districts.
A Shifting Sense of Urban Design in Dallas
In an opinion piece, architecture critic Mark Lamster discusses the merits and deficiencies of recent Dallas developments. He praises a rising sense of "progressivism" in the city's design choices.
Polling Residents on the Cleanliness of Their Cities
The happiness and quality of life or residents is often attached to their perception of the cleanliness of their city, according to this article.
Houston Flooding: Climate Change or Development Patterns to Blame?
The Guardian's former environmental editor asks if urban sprawl is as much to blame as climate change for the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston.
Florida Prepares for Irma: Building Codes, Cranes, Evacuation, Storm Surge
As Irma leaves the Caribbean and heads for Florida, with landfall expected this weekend, there is a lot to worry about: New building codes will be put to test, fuel to evacuate is in short supply, and cranes have not been dismantled.
Houston and San Francisco: Urban Development Patterns Gone Awry
With the media rightfully pointing to Houston's sprawling urban development patterns that exacerbated the epic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, Paul Krugman also finds fault with cities where urban development is too tightly regulated.
EPA's Scott Pruitt Dismisses Global Warming Connection to Houston Flooding
While any one event can not be attributed to global warming, climate scientists have long acknowledged a connection to extreme weather. Pruitt, a climate denier, dismisses any such connection with the amount of rainfall from Hurricane Harvey.
The Culprit of Houston Flooding: Sprawl, Not Lack of Zoning
As Houston's flood waters recede and attention turns from rescue to recovery and soon rebuilding, critics have pointed to the city's lack of zoning as the cause of the devastation. But are they looking in the right direction?
AP: 13 Texas Superfund Sites Threatened by Post-Harvey Flooding
The Associated Press broke big news yesterday about the scale of the environmental threat facing neighborhoods and communities located near toxic waste sites in Texas.
Rebuilding Houston After Harvey: 'Bigger and Better'
Those were the words President Trump expressed before his first trip to Texas while Hurricane Harvey was ravaging Houston. But experts worry that the rebuilding won't be better due to the recision of an Obama-era environmental regulation.
After Hurricane, Houston's High Number of Vacant Apartments Looks Like a Good Thing
Houston's apartment vacancy rate was among the highest in the nation before Hurricane Harvey, after the storm's destruction many of those homes will likely be put to good use.
Houston's Drainage Problem
Houston received over 50 inches of rain from Hurricane Harvey in five days. While no city could survive that drenching unscathed, Houston was not prepared to handle the floods due to decades of neglect of stormwater management planning.
Hurricane Effect: Rising Gas Prices
One need not be on the Gulf Coast to experience some of the effects of Hurricane Harvey, a category 4 storm that landed near Corpus Christi on Friday night. Gas prices are expected to rise five to ten cents per gallon in some regions, then recede.
Raising the Alarms as Hurricane Harvey Heads for Houston and the Gulf Coast
Hurricane Harvey was expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday. If the damage in human and economic terms is terrible, a lack of infrastructure maintenance and development responsibility will be to blame.
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
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland
