Architecture & Urban Planning

In November 2020 Environmental Health News annouced their second round of Agents of Change in Environmental Health fellows, which includes Regan Patterson, a Transportation Equity Research Fellow at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. From the EHN website: Amplifying voices of next generation environmental health and justice leaders has grown in relevance and urgency as we face a public health pandemic, economic collapse, racial injustice, and increasing effects of climate change.

Jonathan Likeke Scheuer is in his seventh year of serving as one of nine members of Hawaii’s Land Use Commission. The LUC is responsible for moving land from Hawaii’s conservation and agricultural districts into the urban district — for housing and other purposes. He writes the state cannot hope to solve its housing problem until it recognizes the myths in most definitions of the housing crisis.

This lecture by Linda Shi from September 10, 2020 explores whether it is possible to achieve both social justice and environmental sustainability in efforts to mitigate urban flood risk.

The United States House of Representatives has passed the “Moving Forward Act” (H.R.2), legislation that will provide $1.5 trillion for transportation, climate resilience, and other infrastructure. The legislation also includes the Outdoors for All Act, which dedicates funding for city parks through the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Outdoor Resources Legacy Partnership Program (ORLP).

Juan Reynoso is only the second person to have completed a new joint Master in Public Health (M.P.H.)/Master in Urban Planning (M.U.P.) degree program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD). The program allows students to pursue a transdisciplinary education in urban planning and public health and sharpen their understanding of key areas including policy, sustainability, and social determinants of health.

The state Land Use Commission on Tuesday approved the final environmental impact statement for a petition to rezone 97 acres in Kapaa for urban use, making way for a proposed residential development. That doesn’t mean there will necessarily be a zoning change or land use district boundary amendment for the area near Kapaa Middle School, where developers plan to build a 769-unit subdivision known as HoKua Place.