Twitter

A person’s thumb hovers over the Twitter app on a smart phone.

Is Twitter Still an Effective Planning Tool?

Twitter has been a daily dose of drama and upheaval ever since Elon Musk offered to pay over $40 billion to buy the social media platform. Media outlets and public transit agencies had been abandoning the social media platform—should planners?

May 18, 2023 - James Brasuell

Person on subway platform holds phone and looks toward track

Transit Agencies Could Lose Access to Twitter Updates

Twitter announced it would start charging for access to its API, which many transit and government agencies rely on to provide real-time service updates.

April 18, 2023 - Bloomberg CityLab

Twitter office building in downtown San Francisco

City Requiring Permits for Twitter’s Dystopian Office Bedrooms

After a Forbes article revealed dozens of makeshift sleeping areas in Twitter’s downtown San Francisco offices, the city is asking the company to file for permits if they want to keep them.

February 5, 2023 - The Architect's Newspaper

A mobile phone with a crying emoji face and the word "doomscrolling" is on a table between a tissue and a glass of wine.

Twitter for Planners in 2022

Twitter is changing, not in the way Elon Musk wants it to, but it’s still perhaps the most useful social media platform for planners looking for education and engagement.

June 9, 2022 - James Brasuell

Regional Transit

Only High-Income Riders Rely on Twitter for Transit Info, Study Says

A recent study by the Transit app reveals which communications methods are the most and least effective at reaching demographic groups representative of transit riders.

January 20, 2022 - transit

Twitter Headquarters

Big Tech Flirts With Community Development

Facing calls to invest in racial equity, companies like Netflix, Twitter, and others have recently pledged millions in new financing for affordable housing, small businesses, and other community development projects. Will they stick around?

May 14, 2021 - Shelterforce Magazine

Social Media Apps

Which Urban Planning Academics Use Twitter and How

About 1/3 of planning faculty members use Twitter in a professional capacity. Semantic and network analysis of their Twitter use is helpful for reading the pulse of the field.

October 30, 2019 - Tom Sanchez

California

California's Ability to Set Auto Emissions Standards to Be Revoked

The announcement was made Wednesday morning in a series of tweets by President Trump while raising cash from willing donors at several fundraisers in California. The formal announcement from EPA and DOT is set for Thursday.

September 19, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

Twitter Headquarters

'Housing Twitter' and the Great Debate

In case you weren't already aware, there are is a how subculture of debate and controversy on Twitter devoted to the subject of housing. And if you were aware, and perhaps are a participant, here's what Fast Company is saying about you.

August 20, 2019 - Fast Company

San Francisco Homeless

Will More Money Solve San Francisco's Homelessness Problem?

San Francisco voters will decide on Proposition C, a business tax based on gross receipts levied on large employers, the most contentious of five local measures.

October 31, 2018 - Curbed SF

E-Scooters

An Electric Scooter Pilot and a Twitter Faux Pas

A public service announcement about safe use of electric scooters turn into a full-fledged controversy last week in Portland.

July 30, 2018 - Streetsblog USA

720 Bus at Vermont and Wilshire

The Twitter Spat Heard 'Round the Planning World

It's understandable if you were too busy reveling in the holidays to catch the details of a controversy between Elon Musk and Jarrett Walker. The disagreement took on a life of its own on social media.

January 2, 2018 - James Brasuell

Bike Lane in the Snow

Friday Funny: An Imaginary Snowplow Takes a Lot of Days Off

Fans of @BobGunderson and @BicycleLobby will want to check out the Chicago winter version of the sardonic fake Twitter account, @606snowplow.

December 23, 2016 - Chi.Streetsblog

Twitter Headquarters

Top Twitter Feeds

Some of the most active and valued Twitter users in the planning and urbanism conversation share their favorite Twitter feeds.

May 9, 2016 - James Brasuell

APA Conference

Scraping Social Media to Analyze Public Engagement

Planners are increasingly using social media for public engagement. How can you analyze what people are saying? NodeXL is an easy to use free tool for scraping and analyzing social media. I use this tool to report from the APA National Conference.

April 4, 2016 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

Transit Fail

About That Shocking Twitter Storm by @SFBART

The word "shocking" above could also have been "depressing," and the word "storm" could have also been "rant." Or it could have been "honest" and "victory." When it comes to transit, everyone sees what they want to see.

March 18, 2016 - James Brasuell

Food Truck

New Study Looks at the Mystery and Benefits of Food Truck Movements

The seemingly non-complex decisions on where food trucks park is examined in a new study that finds there's actually a lot more to it than just an empty curb.

February 16, 2016 - CityLab

Study: Transit Agencies Should Respond to the Haters

Here's a counter-intuitive proposition for transit agencies: feed the Twitter trolls.

January 20, 2016 - The Urban Edge

Using Twitter to Better Understand Public Sentiment

By using the data provided by millions of Twitter users, two researchers discovered surprising insights into public sentiment in shrinking cities.

January 14, 2016 - At Lincoln House

Control Room

Technologies for Understanding Cities

Researchers are examining technologies that can aid in understanding many aspects of our cities, from how citizens interact in plan making, where residents use social media, and how to understand our changing communities.

October 29, 2015 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

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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.