Navigation

Man with sunglasses and cane sits on bus stop shelter bench.

Making Trip Planning Easier for Vision-Impaired Transit Riders

The app provides navigation using audio and haptic cues to improve accessibility for people with low vision.

March 15, 2024 - Next City

Man with visual impairment boarding public bus

New App Helps People With Visual Impairments Navigate Transit

The Waymap app offers precise instructions to give blind pedestrians more options for safe travel.

May 25, 2022 - Reuters

Portland Sidewalk

Google Maps for iPhone Now Reports DUI Checkpoints, Speed Traps

Navigation app Waze has long allowed users the ability to report various "inconveniences" on the road, like speed traps, checkpoints, and crashes. Now Google Maps users on iPhone can do the same.

October 22, 2019 - The Washington Post

Mobile Phone

Mobility Data: How Your Travel Patterns Could Inform Policy

Data generated by travel modes can inform planners and regulators in improving the transportation system, but private mobility companies often restrict their access for concerns about privacy and competition.

August 19, 2019 - Mollie Cohen D’Agostino

Rome, Italy

Google's New 'Visual Position System' Takes Pedestrian Navigation to the Next Level

In case you've ever felt like Google Maps isn't as helpful on foot as it is in a car, there's a new technology just for you.

March 27, 2019 - Gizmodo

Mobility

Google Maps Goes Multi-Modal

A bunch of new features makes Google Maps user-friendly for transit commuters.

October 3, 2018 - Smart Cities Dive

Manhattan

How an Urban Grid Becomes a Maze

Many rational, open grids can seem like a labyrinth to users. The labyrinth has emerged as an unplanned consequence of the evolution of cities, but solutions like GPS navigation and autonomous vehicles could mean relief.

January 10, 2018 - Fanis Grammenos

Waze

Flooded With Navigation App Users, a Town Closes Its Streets

Navigation apps like Waze often reroute drivers onto residential streets that would be quiet otherwise. With some residents unable to leave their driveways, the New Jersey borough of Leonia has taken an extreme measure against the problem.

January 5, 2018 - The New York Times

Waze

Cities Seeking New Weapons in the Battle Against Waze-Induced Traffic

Los Altos, California has erected a new roadblock in its ongoing effort to keep drivers from cutting through residential neighborhoods, beckoned by the popular navigation app Waze.

June 26, 2017 - Slate

Waze

Waze vs. Residential Neighborhoods

Accounts of disgruntled residents responding by any means necessary to the flood of cars beckoned by the whims of navigation apps like Waze are spreading across the country.

June 7, 2016 - The Washington Post

Ultimate Tech Guide to Boston

Whether you're a lifelong resident of Boston, just moving there, or simply passing through, this guide has 18 apps and services for navigating and enjoying the city life to its fullest.

November 9, 2015 - Netted

Downtown, now

The Man Who Made Chicago Easy to Navigate

Edward Brennan waged an extended turn-of-the-century campaign to clean up Chicago's then-confusing address numbering system. Though few recognize his name, Brennan's legacy lives on in modern Chicago.

June 19, 2015 - WBEZ

How to Design a City for Blackouts

During the nightly blackouts designed to protect London from aerial attack during World War II, authorities used white paint as a cheap tool for making the city navigable in the darkness. Could London offer lessons for building resilient cities?

January 7, 2014 - Gizmodo

Navigation or Legibility – Which Way?

August 14, 2012 - Fanis Grammenos

Are You a Narrative or Spatial Navigator?

Jarett Walker finds out how many people can recognize north in the subway. The survey is used to explain the distinction between narrative and spatial navigation, which appear to be the two predominant forms of human navigation.

June 24, 2010 - Human Transit

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

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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.