Articles by Eric de Place

Cool feature in Nat’l Geo

National Geographic has a fairly awesome new web feature. It's an interactive look at smart growth that does a good job of spelling out -- with pictures! -- some of the key differences between low-density sprawl and healthier compact communities. There's more in the magazine.

Unfortunately, NG's representation of healthy urban development seems to make a puzzling omission. I was unable to find the multibillion dollar giant new elevated freeway through the heart of town -- the hallmark of responsible planning for the future.

A bit odd, if you ask me.

Washington is still the weakest link

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that Washington was the West Coast's weakest link when it comes to climate policy. Since then, the Evergreen State has stepped up with the outline of a plan to put a sizable dent in emissions. (That's in addition to some small-caliber but near-term policies). This was such great news that I was tempted to change my handicapping.

But then I read the papers yesterday ...

Maybe

I'm a day or two late on this, but there's promising news from Oregon on Measure 37. Governor Kulongoski has proposed legislation that essentially puts a temporary moratorium on the most obnoxious results of the law. (See here and here [pdf] for the details.)

Kulongoski's bill will still allow rural landowners to continue with small-scale claims. In fact, it should actually speed up the processing of these claims. So legitimate claimants who want to build a single family house on their property -- or subdivide to build a new house -- will be allowed to.

Seems like smart politics to me.

Just ’cause it’s fun

Apropos of Anna's fascinating post yesterday, I decided to do a little digging to find out if Canada's superior record of concern for the environment is translating into a better record for the planet.

So far, it's not. At least not when it comes to climate change, which I'd argue is the biggest environmental (and economic and social justice) challenge facing the world.