Trucks on the highway by futureatlas.com licensed under Creative Commons.

This 1980 law paved the way for big-box stores. How the pandemic will change urbanism. One Dutch city is reshaping its plan to address climate change.

The 1980 law that led to big box stores: The Motor Carrier Act of 1980, passed by President Jimmy Carter, slashed the cost of moving goods by truck, reducing the pay of millions of truck drivers by 50% and essentially created big-box retail. The law deregulated the trucking industry hoping to get rid of red tape and force competition, thus reducing good prices that big box and online retailers thrive on. It ultimately led to lower wages for truck drivers and a consolidation of retail competition. (Rachel Premak | Business Insider)

Will the pandemic alter urbanism? The great debate of whether coronavirus will alter urban living and to what extent has been a constant since the beginning of the pandemic. Despite evidence of density’s minimal role and the blame being on crowding, the debate of the future of urbanism continues. Cities are less car-centric, remote work has spread to stay, and planners are aiming for better racial justice. (James Brasuell | Planetizen)

A Dutch city changes green footprint for climate adaption strategy: To combat the effects of climate change, the Dutch city of Arnhem has put together a 10-year plan that will remake the city in order to respond to more extreme weather events like intense rainfall and heat. Changes include replacing asphalt with more grass, building more shade, and expanding tree canopies. (Daniel Boffey | The Guardian)

Where will America’s remote workers live? If workers are no longer attached to cities and urban centers following increased business lenience for remote work and teleworking, where will they opt to live? Proximity to family and personal finances is likely to dominate the decision. Other determinants are climate, reliable internet, open space, and more. (Bonnie Kristian | The Week)

Changing the narrative around housing: Research suggests that supporting housing justice policies is imperative in combating the housing crisis. But to look deeper into how housing justice could be advanced nationwide, several groups dove into housing narratives and framing that resonated with people. (Miriam Axel-Lute | Shelterforce)

Quote of the Week

“Everybody’s for equity, until they’re against it. Everybody’s for fairness, until they find out everybody won’t get what they want.”

Harris County TX commissioner Rodney Ellis discussing the implementation of an equity metric on how flood control money is spent in Houston in the New York Times.

This week on the podcast, University of Michigan assistant professor Rob Goodspeed joins us to talk about Scenario Planning for Cities and Regions.