Planning June 2018
Et Cetera
Television: Wild Wild Country
Image courtesy Netflix
The latest binge-worth docuseries from Netflix chronicles the rise of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's religious community in the mid-'70s and into the '80s — and serves as a conspiracy-filled case study of NIMBYism.
In 1981, the Rajneeshees purchased 64,229 acres of landed designated for farm use in Wasco County, Oregon. To accommodate commercial activity and multifamily use on the property, the community filed to incorporate 2,013 acres. After gaining approval from the county court the following year, the Rajneeshpuram community — which included some trained planners — built a city: roads, an electrical grid, a dam and irrigation system, a private airport, sewage disposal, a post office. More than two dozen business licenses were issued for restaurants and retail. A-frame homes and trailers were scattered throughout, and over 300 building permits were issued for a 95-lot subdivision.
Though incorporation was unanimous, it was soon contested. Surrounding communities felt the population increase, and cultural differences sparked tensions. As conflict escalated, development slowed, and the Rajneeshees got caught in a land-use legal battle. Watch the real-life drama unfold in Wild Wild Country at http://bit.ly/WIldWildCountry.
—Kate Calabra
Calabra is the meetings and conference associate at APA.
Ranked: Best Cycling Cities
Fort Collins is the safest city for cyclists according to City Ratings. "Downtown Fort Collins, Colorado" by Citycommunications, Wikimedia (CC 3.0).
Advocacy organization PeopleForBikes released City Ratings, a tough new system for scoring bike infrastructure and traffic injury rates. To see the full list — and find out how your city stacks up — head over to http://bit.ly/PplforBikes.
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Wausau, Wisconsin
- Boulder, Colorado
- Portland, Oregon
- Tucson, Arizona
Games: Frostpunk
Image courtesy 11 Bit Studio.
A new Microsoft Windows game challenges users to rebuild a civilization — and keep its residents alive — in the midst of an apocalyptic winter. Dubbed "the first society survival game" by maker 11 bit studio, Frostpunk is a combination of resource and population management, municipal policy building, and urban planning. Watch the game play trailer at http://bit.ly/FrostpunkTrailer.
Tech: Coord
Sidewalk Labs released a new tool that aims to improve traffic management by looking at curb space. Using Coord's cloud-based, searchable map, drivers can determine the best curbside for their use — parking, passenger pick-up, loading zone — and the date and time, as well as their vehicle type. For a live demonstration of the tool, check out San Francisco's digitized downtown at coord.co/san-francisco, and learn more about Coord at http://bit.ly/2I39aGQ.
Et Cetera is a curated collection of planning odds and ends. Please send information to Lindsay R. Nieman, Planning's assistant editor, at lnieman@planning.org.