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Land Use Archive
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Transfer of Development Rights Programs
Richard Register of Ecocity Builders has created a rendering of the de-urbanization of now sprawling Denver, CO. TDR could help achieve this end with the benefit of reducing vehicle miles traveled and thus, carbon emissions and restoring needed farmland. When local governments want to encourage density and prevent or undo suburban sprawl, one of their [...]
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Ecocity Challenges
Freiburg is known as an ecocity. The newly built neighbourhoods of Vauban and Rieselfeld were developed and built according to the idea of sustainability. The citizens of Freiburg are known in Germany for their love of cycling and recycling. This past December, as climate talks in Copenhagen commenced, I sat in talks in Istanbul listening [...]
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Topsoil in Cities
More than 200 volunteers helped to transform the turf and landscape around Petaluma City Hall into a water-saving area. The project will save the city about 3.5 million gallons of water and $25,000 annually. All those urbanites growing organic food in the city has a certain appeal for the media, but to the average person, [...]
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Vancouver Aims to be Greenest City in the World
Vancouver is already known for savvy city planning. Vancouver’s Mayor Gregor Robertson recently announced an ambitious 10-year plan to make Vancouver the world’s greenest city by 2020. Robertson presented the plan to the “Gaining Ground-Resilient Cities” conference at the Vancouver Convention Center. Robertson says that Vancouver is still far too reliant on cars and on [...]
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California’s Approach to Land Use and Climate Protection
The passing of Senate Bill 375 in California last year was a landmark occasion marking a new approach to land use and climate protection. The bill, authored by Senate President-Elect Darrell Steinberg, is the first law in the nation to tie billions of dollars in federal and state transportation funds to plans to shorten commutes, build sustainable communities and reduce global warming.
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US Cities May Have to Shrink to Survive
The U.S. government is considering replicating a pioneering de-urbanization effort in Flint, one of the poorest U.S. cities, which involves razing entire districts and returning the land to nature. Local politicians in Flint believe the city must shrink by as much as 40%, concentrating the diminishing population and local services into a more viable area.
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Smart Growth and Sustainable Development on new U.S. Agenda
The Environmental Protection Agency is joining forces with the Department of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development to create a strategy for sustainable, smart growth in the US. The new partnership means that there will be a new focus on environmental issues when the nation’s housing and transportation needs are being considered.
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Curitiba: City Planning at its Best
Curitiba is the capital city of Paran, one of Brazil’s southernmost states. While Curitiba faces the same problems as other cities around the world – overcrowding, poverty, pollution and funding constraints – Curitba’s city planners have come up with some creative and inexpensive ways to address them.
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NanoCity
In the northern niche of Haryana in the foothills of the Himalaya, a new hub of business, technology and education is emerging. Students from the Berkeley Group for Architecture and Planning are working on ideas for infrastructure, transportation, road networks and communication networks for “NanoCity.” The main intent is to create a livable, dense, sustainable, eco-friendly environment that can serve as a model for other developments in the region.