Exclusives

Low close-up of yellow flowers and pedestrians walking on New York City's High Line linear park.

BLOG POST

Pedestrian-Friendly Cities: The Impact of Walkability Grants

Explore how walkability grants are transforming cities into pedestrian-friendly environments, enhancing urban livability, boosting local economies, and improving public health.

August 22 - Devin Partida

Small ADU in backyard.

FEATURE

ADUs as Condos: What Does it Mean for Homeownership?

A California law that allows the sale of ADUs as condos may soon make homeownership more attainable.

August 22 - Jessica Brown

Woman in green sweater wearing light blue medical mask sitting on bus looking at her phone.

BLOG POST

Valuing Ounces of Prevention

Planning decisions often involve trade-offs between short-term prevention costs and larger future savings and benefits. Planners can help communities determine what best reflects their priorities.

August 21 - Todd Litman

Back view of group of six children and one adult walking down school hallway.

BLOG POST

The Role of Schools in Fostering Vibrant and Inclusive Communities

Discover how schools play a crucial role in community development by fostering inclusivity, enhancing local engagement, and serving as hubs for social and cultural activities.

August 20 - Devin Partida

Close-up of orange and white traffic cone on street with blurred worker in orange vest in background.

FEATURE

Book Review: Killed By A Traffic Engineer

In a new book, engineering professor Wes Marshall explains why American roads are so unsafe.

August 13 - Michael Lewyn


Vintage multi-story brick apartment building and modern concrete and glass apartment building separated by a steep public stairway in Los Angeles, California.

FEATURE

Good As New: The Vital Role of Preservation in Solving the Housing Crisis

Preserving historic buildings and existing affordable housing stock has the potential to ease America’s dire affordable housing crisis and promote equity, inclusion, and justice.

August 11 - Bonnie McDonald

Cityscape with government building in Victoria, British Columbia.

BLOG POST

Planners be Nimble, Planners be Quick

Planning should be methodical and responsive to community needs, but not to the point of inefficiency. Too much planning can be just as harmful as too little.

August 7 - Todd Litman


Older woman walking on city street holding white lace sun parasol.

FEATURE

Protecting Vulnerable Older Adults From Extreme Heat

People over 65 are at particular risk during heat waves and other climate disasters.

August 6 - Danielle Arigoni

Spray painted words "Tourist Go Home" on wall in Barcelona illustrate locals' frustration with overtourism.

BLOG POST

Balancing Act: 7 Strategies to Curb Overtourism

What’s a popular travel destination to do? From ice cream bans to “Stay Away” marketing campaigns, cities and countries across the world are getting creative in their efforts to curb the negative impacts of mass tourism and tourists behaving badly.

August 5 - Mary Hammon

Wood-framed houses under construction with brick-covered completed homes in background.

BLOG POST

Project 2025 and Housing Policy

The Heritage Foundation has issued Project 2025, a list of policy proposals for the next Republican administration. On housing, it seems to embody a range of perspectives.

August 4 - Michael Lewyn

A black-and-white photo of a team of white horses pulling a trolley car along a track on a New York City Street, facing the camera.

FEATURE

Mass Transit and Manure: New York’s Lost Era of Horse-Drawn Streetcars

For all the problems we have with today's mass transit system, at least we no longer have to deal with the smell and literal waste of the modern bus and light rail systems' predecessors: horse-drawn streetcars.

August 2 - William Roka

Text that reads July's Must Reads: Planetizen's Top 10 Articles from Last Month with a photo of an Amtrak train traveling through the Utah desert.

BLOG POST

July’s Must Reads: Top 10 Articles from Last Month

In case you missed them, here were the biggest urban planning news items, features, and blogs from last month, including 15 new Amtrak routes, Florida’s EV law, California’s rail update, fare-free buses in Tucson, and more.

August 1 - Mary Hammon

Aerial view of hydrogen storage hub in green field.

BLOG POST

First Federal Funding for Hydrogen Hubs Awarded to California and Pacific Northwest

The U.S. Department of Energy announced on July 17 that the first grant to build the nation's seven proposed 'hydrogen hubs' would go to California. The ultimate goal is to decarbonize transportation fuels used in port operations.

July 31 - Irvin Dawid

Man using cane for visual impairment waiting to board subway train on platform.

BLOG POST

Beyond Compliance: The Crucial Role of the ADA in Planning Great Communities

The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 to protect people with disabilities from discrimination, but more work is needed to make U.S. communities accessible to all. And planners have a key role to play.

July 26 - Mary Hammon

For Rent

BLOG POST

Rethinking Rent Control: Balancing Affordability With Market Dynamics

Explore the balance between rent control policies and market dynamics, analyzing how different models impact housing affordability and real estate investment.

July 25 - Devin Partida

Close-up on group of young people sitting at a table using their cell phones.

BLOG POST

Leveraging Social Media for Citizen Engagement in Urban Planning

Discover how urban planners can use social media to enhance citizen engagement, featuring strategies for interactive communication and community involvement in urban development projects.

July 24 - Devin Partida

Group of four young professional people standing in front of urban building looking at documents.

BLOG POST

Planning Your Planning Career: A Process not a Blueprint

As planning students and recent graduates consider internships and first jobs, they often ask how much these initial decisions matter. A conversation with Professor Robert Freestone unpacks the twists and turns of planning careers.

July 24 - Ann Forsyth

Digital drawing of orange Combi microbus popular in Lima, Peru.

FEATURE

Urban Planning in Lima, Peru

For some people, ‘urban planning’ and ‘Lima’ do not go together. In fact, the Peruvian capital effectively highlights various facets of the urban planning world.

July 23 - Marcelo Remond

Natural gas power plant with two tall smokestacks against blue and purple sunset sky

BLOG POST

Power Plants: A Win for the EPA

New rules from the US Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants survived an attempt by 25 Republican-led states to block their implementation while their case is litigated.

July 22 - Irvin Dawid

Blue and green city bus blurred in transit on New York City street.

BLOG POST

Planning for Equity in an Ideologically Conservative Community

To support equity goals, planners must accommodate diverse ideological perspectives, including political environments that focus on functional fairness rather than demographic categories.

July 22 - Todd Litman

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

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.

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