Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is celebrating its 35th anniversary and is finding ways to ascertain exactly what the agency has brought to the region.
The agency has been working on a study that evaluates the impact of rail and subway lines on surrounding businesses and property prices, while also modeling what the region would look like if its transit services never existed. They found that the increased road congestion would be likely to splinter the region as people regressed into localized economies and stopped crossing city or county boundaries.
The study also forecasted the effect of expanding Washington's road and freeway network to compensate for a lack of transit. This would require adding 15 mores lanes to the beltway, and providing 166 blocks of five story parking garages downtown.
FULL STORY: Imagining A City Without Its Public Transportation

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.
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Planning for Universal Design
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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