Low-cost, high capacity urban gondolas and cable cars are being successfully used as public transit and tools of urban revitalization in Colombia, Algeria and other parts of the developing world.
Megan McConville writes: "Metrocable was designed to reach some of the least developed suburban areas of Medellín, poor barrios on the hills surrounding the city that cannot be reached by conventional public transit. Opened in 2006, Metrocable was intended to connect the inhabitants of these barrios to the rest of the city. It has succeeded in easing their commutes and has also helped revitalize some of the areas it passes through. 'People in Santo Domingo [one of the barrios] used to say that they weren't part of Medellin,' says a cable car engineer. 'They had to take three separate buses to get to it. But now they feel that they are involved in the city.'"
Thanks to Steven Dale
FULL STORY: Up, Up and Away in a Cable Car

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont