Planetizen

Jail the Planners for Not Preventing Sandy!

Jonathan Nettler — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Jail the Planners for Not Preventing Sandy! Jonathan Nettler Mon, 11/05/2012 - 15:00 5 minutes

Planning Education: Striking a Better Balance

Jonathan Nettler — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Planning Education: Striking a Better Balance Jonathan Nettler Wed, 10/31/2012 - 16:00 18 minutes

Are Amoeba-Shaped Cities More Likely To Go Bankrupt?

Jonathan Nettler — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Are Amoeba-Shaped Cities More Likely To Go Bankrupt? Jonathan Nettler Mon, 10/01/2012 - 17:00 6 minutes

A Brave New World: How Apps Are Changing Planning

Jonathan Nettler — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 23:00:00 +0000

A Brave New World: How Apps Are Changing Planning Jonathan Nettler Tue, 09/04/2012 - 16:00 9 minutes

Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor

Zachary Whalen — Sat, 07 Nov 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor Zachary Whalen Sat, 11/07/2026 - 05:00

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As mayor, Raman will become chair of Metro’s board and oversee the city’s transportation department.

Nithya Raman, who holds a graduate degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is officially Los Angeles' Mayor-elect. Raman campaigned on getting Metro the tens of millions in funding it needs for LA28’s bus network and getting the Los Angeles International Airport’s people mover back on track, writes Colleen Shalby for the Los Angeles Times.

Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more "aggressive" in addressing transit issues than current-Mayor Karen Bass. The Times reports:

“I do think we’ll see a considerable amount of action on transit and multimodal transportation in the short run on a timeline that puts this work in the context of preparation for the summer of 2028,” said Juan Matute, deputy director of UCLA’s Institute of Transportation Studies.

As mayor, Raman will become chair of Metro’s board and oversee the city’s transportation department. In a statement to the Times before the election, Raman said she would prioritize Metro projects that “give the most benefits to the most riders and help make our network more useful.”

Geography

California

Category

Government / Politics

Transportation

Tags

Publication

Los Angeles Times

Publication Date

Fri, 11/06/2026 - 12:00

Publication Links

Public transit issues expected to be high priority under Raman administration

1 minute

Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge

Zachary Whalen — Fri, 06 Nov 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge Zachary Whalen Fri, 11/06/2026 - 08:00

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The tax still faces two other lawsuits.

A panel of Brooklyn appellate judges ruled that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration can resume the rollout of the city’s pied-à-terre tax. A judge previously ruled that the city mismanaged the tax’s implementation; Wednesday’s ruling reverses that ruling. The panel found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of the city’s implementation, CNN reports.

“The pied-à-terre tax imposes a surcharge on New York City properties that are not used as primary residences and are valued at more than $5 million. The tax also targets co-ops valued at $1 million or more. The surcharge does not apply if the home is rented or if a relative of the owner lives in the home a majority of the time,” Gloria Pazmino writes for CNN.

The tax still faces two other lawsuits, which argue that the tax is unconstitutional and discriminatory toward out-of-state property owners.

Geography

New York

Category

Government / Politics

Housing

Tags

Publication

CNN

Publication Date

Wed, 11/04/2026 - 12:00

Publication Links

Mamdani’s tax on high-end second homes survives legal challenge for now

1 minute

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Zachary Whalen — Fri, 06 Nov 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity Zachary Whalen Fri, 11/06/2026 - 07:00

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Companies projected to use over 2,000 megawatts of energy are already planning to set up shop in eastern Nebraska.

Data centers and electrification are sapping energy from eastern Nebraska's Omaha Public Power District, resulting in a bottleneck that threatens the region’s economic growth. OPPD currently estimates it has less than 100 megawatts of available power capacity to service new or expanding companies over the next few years — manufacturing facilities can range from needing a few megawatts, to over 100.

According to OPPD president and CEO Javier Fernandez, any new project that needs two megawatts or more may have to wait to receive electricity. “Economic development leaders are concerned that if power capacity in Nebraska’s largest metropolitan area remains limited, the Omaha area and the state as a whole will be put at a competitive disadvantage for growth opportunities like new businesses, jobs, and increased tax revenue. This comes as the state is projected to face a $208 million deficit next year,” Anila Yoganathan writes for Grist.

Companies projected to use over 2,000 megawatts of energy are already planning to set up shop in eastern Nebraska. OPPD is now trying to decide how much to expand its energy portfolio: build too small, and the company risks suffocating economic development. Overestimate how much energy new developments will need, and OPPD’s ratepayers will be on the hook financially.

Geography

Nebraska

Category

Energy

Tags

Publication

Grist

Publication Date

Wed, 11/04/2026 - 12:00

Publication Links

As Nebraska seeks to grow, Omaha’s energy capacity is a major hurdle

1 minute

Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion

Zachary Whalen — Fri, 06 Nov 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion Zachary Whalen Fri, 11/06/2026 - 06:00

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Seattle's Proposition 1 will also fund construction work aimed at reducing transit delays.

Seattle voters have paved the way for the city’s largest-ever expansion of transit service. Citizens voted in favor of Proposition 1 Tuesday night, which will double the city’s transit tax and take effect on April 1, 2027.

“The increase amounts to 30 cents, or 15 cents more, per $100 in taxable purchases. The city estimates the tax would raise about $138 million a year, preserving 180,000 city-funded bus trips annually and adding 95,000 more trips, with a focus on expanding late-night, weekend, and midday service under the city’s 2026 Seattle Transit Renewal,” Michelle Esteban writes for KOMO News.

Proposition 1’s tax hike will be in effect for the next decade. The measure will also fund construction work aimed at reducing transit delays, and double the amount of free transit cards for qualifying residents.

Geography

Washington

Category

Transportation

Tags

Publication

KOMO News

Publication Date

Wed, 11/04/2026 - 12:00

Publication Links

Election-night returns in Seattle show 70% backing for Proposition 1 transit tax

1 minute

General or specialized training: Is US planning education fit for the future?

Ann Forsyth — Fri, 06 Nov 2026 13:00:00 +0000

General or specialized training: Is US planning education fit for the future?

Ann Forsyth Fri, 11/06/2026 - 05:00

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Aiming to create generalists with a specialty is still a useful way to organize education for beginning planners, but for others, more tailored strategies may be more relevant.

Planning education has been in place in its current form for some time — is it time for something new? Much of the pedagogy that was emerging in the early twentieth century and maturing in the post-war period is still in place today. One major approach, first articulated clearly by Harvey Perloff in the 1950s, was that planning education would produce generalists with a specialty. This idea moved beyond the field's earlier design focus to propose that planning education should provide both a broad, common body of knowledge, skills, values and specific expertise. Given the rapid pace of change in the world — environmental, political, technological, demographic — should planners instead lean into their generalist ability to bring people together to collaborate on important problems, or dig deeper into specialties? This question matters for students selecting programs as well as professionals concerned with the future of the field. I propose that aiming to create generalists with a specialty is still a useful way to organize education for beginning planners, but for others, more tailored strategies may be more relevant.

A strong start for beginners

In the U.S., the generalist-with-a-specialty philosophy was, for many years, encoded in the Planning Accreditation Board's curriculum criteria, which specified general knowledge for all planners and then provided a format for specialties. While many programs did not formalize their concentrations and areas of emphasis as the PAB outlined, most programs offered paths for students to engage more deeply with topics ranging from transportation planning and urban design to healthy places and community development. While the PAB has relaxed its specialization criteria, most programs still offer some form of concentration to signal their expertise to applicants and help students identify relevant courses once they are enrolled. The two-year minimum length of accredited planning programs has space for both general and specialized education.

While the Planning Accreditation Board has relaxed its specialization criteria, most programs still offer some form of concentration to signal their expertise to applicants and help students identify relevant courses once they are enrolled. | SORN340 Studio

As I have outlined on Planetizen before, the generalist-with-a-specialty approach has several benefits, particularly for those new to planning. A generalist training, one that not only addresses planning but also its relation to nearby fields and civil society, is good preparation for future collaboration and interdisciplinary leadership. We often hear calls to break down administrative silos, and generalist training provides a strong base for such work. For universities and students, the generalist-with-a-specialty approach helps structure a program that provides a broad understanding of planning in the first semesters, with later specializations or concentrations building on that foundation. Many students enter planning wanting to address a specific problem, such as sustainability, but in the first year, they change their minds about exactly how to go about solving it. For example, they might shift from a proposed concentration in environmental planning to one in transportation. By delaying the specialty training to the second year, students have flexibility to alter their path. If the planning program only offered specialized training, it would not be as easy to make that kind of shift. Employers also benefit by having a predictable general knowledge base among new graduates.

Limitations for certain demographics

However, the model has some limitations.

One limitation is that there is not enough time in two years to become both a generalist and a true specialist, a challenge made all the more acute by the pace of change in the contemporary world. Even two years is a lot of time to spend on training in one's twenties, and there are significant opportunity costs. Rather than extending the degree, other options have emerged. Dual or joint degree programs, which involve study beyond two years, are evidence of that demand. Other students pursue one-year master's degrees or additional certificates while they are in school or after they have worked for a while.

For someone who is already a specialist in a related field, such as environmental engineering or landscape architecture, what they may really want is generalist knowledge of planning so they can collaborate better with others. | Gorgev

Another weakness is that the generalist-with-a-specialty approach focuses on beginning planners, and with declining numbers of younger students, planning might need to attract students further along in their careers. For someone who is already a specialist in a related field, such as environmental engineering or landscape architecture, what they may really want is generalist knowledge of planning so they can collaborate better with others. Meanwhile, someone who has been a planner for a while might need specialized training to achieve real mastery in a subfield. Both of these mid-career student types would receive generalist-with-a-specialty training in a typical PAB-accredited program, but they would actually need only part of the training package.

A final limitation for the generalist-with-a-specialty model is format. While it can be delivered in a variety of modes, the dominant path has been full-time or part-time over a relatively short period, and this may not fit contemporary career paths or learning expectations.

The future of planning education demands variety

What do the limitations of the generalist-with-a-specialty model mean for the overall philosophy of planning education, producing generalists with a specialty, and for students selecting planning programs? The generalist-with-a-specialty idea is still relevant: It is a tried-and-true approach to training beginning planners. But with changing demographics and new challenges, planning education needs to be better tailored to meet more students where they are.

There are other options for planning education, from microcredentials to executive master's programs, and formats ranging from online to intensive. They deserve more investigation from U.S. educators. | Reshetnikov_art

There are plenty of examples the U.S. can look to for more flexible planning school programs. In the UK, the Royal Town Planning Institute has been experimenting with an apprenticeship model. Australia has long had a great deal of distance education, though not necessarily in planning. The Claremont Lincoln University, founded by the same people who run the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy, offers an online certificate in planning for $5,000 that can build toward an unaccredited 13-month online master's degree. There are other options for planning education, from microcredentials to executive master's programs, and formats ranging from online to intensive. They deserve more investigation from U.S. educators.

To best position planning education for the future, educators need to provide planning education in more varied formats in terms of length of program and focus. Doing so will help meet the needs of today’s planning students, and help ensure a more robust, well-rounded workforce of planners tomorrow.

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Social / Demographics

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5 minutes

Post election, Texas is no longer Musk’s 'AI oasis'

Zachary Whalen — Fri, 06 Nov 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Post election, Texas is no longer Musk’s 'AI oasis' Zachary Whalen Fri, 11/06/2026 - 05:00

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The day after the election, Musk wrote on X: “Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now.”

Despite Elon Musk spending roughly $446 million on the 2026 midterm election, the most ever spent by a non-canidate, nearly all of his preferred candidates lost. Now, with Texas Democrat Gina Hinojosa besting Greg Abbott in the state’s gubernatorial race, Musk’s plans for an army of data centers in Texas are particularly in doubt.

Politico reports:

“Amid data center backlash all across the country, Texas was supposed to be an AI oasis, where people would be able to build data centers no matter what was happening in the rest of America,” said Sam Koppelman, the publisher of Hunterbrook Media — an investigative journalism outlet connected to a hedge fund. “This election totally changed that.”

The day after the election, Musk wrote on X: “Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now,” an idea he’s actively pursuing.

Geography

Texas

Category

Government / Politics

Land Use