United States

Walkways and escalator at crowded transit station, with one person walking a bike in foreground.

Best Practices for Outsourcing Transit Operations

Contracting with private sector vendors can help transit agencies improve efficiency and provide better service.

April 14, 2024 - Smart Cities Dive

White sign with No Camping - Violators Subject to Arrest and municipal code in red text with snowy trees in background.

Opinion: Unhoused People Need Housing, Not Law Enforcement

The sharp increase in the unhoused population calls for urgent action, not criminalization.

April 14, 2024 - The Hill

Closed black wrought iron gate in front of gated residential community with large palm trees along sides of street.

Friday Funny: Gated Community Doubles Down

The Onion skewers suburbia.

April 12, 2024 - The Onion

Solar panel array with Mojave Desert mountains in background.

Western Solar Plan Charts Course for Development on Public Lands

The BLM’s proposed maps could open up as much as 55 million acres to solar installations.

April 11, 2024 - High Country News

Wood-frame two-story rowhouses under construction.

Fair Housing Cannot Take a Back Seat to ‘Build, Baby, Build’

If we overlook fair housing principles in the plan to build US housing back better, we risk ending up right back where we started.

April 11, 2024 - James Jennings

two riders wearing masks during the covid-19 pandemic exit a blue city bus in the Bronx in New York City.

Transit Ridership Continues its Slow Recovery

Ridership grew by 16 percent between 2022 and 2023.

April 11, 2024 - Smart Cities Dive

Aerial view of Oakland, California with bay in background

California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million

Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.

April 11, 2024 - Los Angeles Times

View of Santa Clara valley in San Francisco Bay Area at dusk.

How to Stop the ‘Growth Ponzi Scheme’

Even cities with wealthy tax bases and strong economies face budget shortfalls when it comes to basic needs. Why?

April 10, 2024 - Strong Towns

Chicago fire department fire truck driving down street with blurred background indicating motion at nighttime.

Balancing Road Diets With Emergency Access

Examples from the Netherlands show how bike lanes and traffic calming can coexist with effective emergency response.

April 10, 2024 - Streetsblog USA

WMATA train on elevated track passing by brick multistory buildings in Alexandria, Virginia.

Making TOD More Viable

Tying housing and land acquisition funding to transit projects could make dense, walkable development easier and more cost-effective.

April 9, 2024 - Smart Cities Dive

Anti homeless bench

Op-Ed: Public Seating Is for Everyone

Seating in the public realm often isn’t designed to accommodate varied body types, ages, and abilities.

April 9, 2024 - Next City

View of street in small town of Camillus, New York on a cloudy day.

Rural Affordable Housing in Crisis

Rural U.S. communities are poised to lose hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units as federally backed mortgages mature.

April 9, 2024 - HousingWire

Close-up of roll of green artificial turf laying on more artificial turf.

Fossil Fuel-Based Artificial Turf Raises Concerns

Cities and states are rolling back support for artificial turf, which can leach chemicals and microplastics into groundwater.

April 9, 2024 - Route Fifty

Two workers in white hard hats looking up at large photovoltaic solar panels.

‘Green Bank’ Network To Fund Climate Projects

The federal government announced a $20 billion investment to support low-interest loans for climate and clean energy projects.

April 8, 2024 - Inside Climate News

View of cars stuck in gridlocked traffic with traffic lights in background

Judge Declares Federal Emissions Rule ‘Arbitrary and Capricious’

Another judge already vacated the rule nationwide before the latest case was decided.

April 8, 2024 - Reuters

Black and white photo of a streetcar from the 1900s.

A History of Public Transit Disinvestment in the US

The Union of Concerned Scientists takes us on a “trip down memory ‘train,’” examining the history of public transit, including its chronic disinvestment and perpetuation of racism, from the 1800s to today.

April 5, 2024 - Union Of Concerned Scientists

Sillhouettes of group of people watching solar eclipse.

Towns Preparing for Eclipse Exodus

Monday’s solar eclipse will bring increased traffic to parts of the country in its path.

April 5, 2024 - Smart Cities Dive

Concrete highway overpasses under construction, view from below

Highway Construction Costs Grow for 11th Straight Quarter

FHWA data shows a 23.9 percent rise in costs in the last year.

April 5, 2024 - Eno Center for Transportation

Man sitting on wooden bench under tall streetlight at night.

Elevating the ‘Small Stuff’ in Urban Design

Chuck Wolfe recaps arguments in favor of increased attention to incidentals — from benches to bollards — in urban development practices.

April 4, 2024 - Resurgence: A Journey via Substack

White neoclassical building with cupola and City Hall lettering on front.

Using AI to Analyze Public Comments

A new tool is designed to help local governments organize and understand large volume of community input on projects.

April 4, 2024 - StateScoop

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

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Websites

The best of the Internet—since 2002.

Top Apps

Planning apps for a brave new world.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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.