Exclusives

Steptoe Butte State Park

BLOG POST

Does Dispersion Help?

Only 7 percent of U.S. residents live in the nation's largest metropolitan area (New York). Has that made coronavirus less deadly?

April 14 - Michael Lewyn

Coronavirus Social Distancing

BLOG POST

Lessons from Pandemics: Comparing Urban and Rural Risks

Many people assume that infectious disease risks make cities dangerous, but this is generally untrue. Other factors have more effect on pandemic risk and mortality rates, making cities safer and healthier than rural areas overall.

April 14 - Todd Litman

Italy Coronavirus

FEATURE

Overcoming Social Distance

People are finding new ways to connect digitally across physical spaces during the coronavirus pandemic, and these temporary solutions could have a lasting impact on the way we live.

April 13 - Lev Kushner

Washington, D.C. Coronavirus

FEATURE

The Geography of Occupations: Some Neighborhoods Will Suffer More Than Others Under COVID-19

Census Bureau data shows we live near people with similar occupations, and right now frontline jobs are riskier for both health and economic well-being than working from home.

April 10 - Jonathan Stiles

Stay-at-Home Orders

FEATURE

Rent Crisis Deferred

One-third of tenants didn't pay rent in April, according to a data released today by the National Multifamily Housing Council.

April 8 - James Brasuell


California Spring

FEATURE

Lessons Emerge as Cities Cede Public Space to Contain the Pandemic

One of the dominant themes to emerge from the spread of COVID-19 is the conflict between the need to be in nature for health and well-being while avoiding public space as much as possible to prevent the spread.

April 6 - James Brasuell

COVID-19

BLOG POST

A Cheer (Or Maybe Even Two) For Redundancy

Is government too efficient to protect us from epidemics?

April 6 - Michael Lewyn


Coronavirus Streets

BLOG POST

Cities Should Take Advantage of Low Car Traffic to Accelerate Transit Construction

Beverly Hills is taking advantage of empty streets by accelerating construction on the Purple Line Subway extension currently cutting its way across Los Angeles. More cities should follow Beverly Hills' lead.

April 2 - James Brasuell

Social Distancing

BLOG POST

COVID-19 Appreciation Day

April Fool's Day is a good day to consider life from a virus's perspective. Our tiny friends have many positive attributes.

April 1 - Todd Litman

Connectivity

FEATURE

The Dots of Connectivity and Broken Cultural Links

Connectivity is not just a question of geometry, according to this article by Fanis Grammenos. It's critical to consider what people connect for and how.

April 1 - Fanis Grammenos

Surveillance Technology

BLOG POST

Will Infrastructure Planners Become Responsible for Facial Recognition Systems?

Facial recognition offers both benefits and risks. Planners can have a role in ensuring more of the former than the latter.

April 1 - Kayla Matthews

Suburban Home

BLOG POST

Disparate Impact Won't Save Us From Exclusionary Zoning

The Fair Housing Act (FHA) imposes liability upon landlords and governments whose policies have a discriminatory effect against racial minorities. However, the courts have interpreted this doctrine narrowly.

March 30 - Michael Lewyn

Bike Path

BLOG POST

Planners and Pandemics: Identifying Problems and Providing Solutions

Planners are professional problem solvers. Let’s see how our methods can be applied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

March 27 - Todd Litman

Homeless

FEATURE

The Crisis Within the Crisis: Homelessness and Housing Pushed to the Brink by COVID-19

Cities, states, and the federal government are trying to prevent a repeat of 2008 while still facing the challenges of inequality and poverty that grew out of the previous recession.

March 26 - James Brasuell

Tomatoes

BLOG POST

Planning Healthy Communities—Beyond the Hype

Evidence-based research can help planners create truly healthy communities. No junk-science please.

March 25 - Todd Litman

JR Shinkansen

PLANOPEDIA

What Is High-Speed Rail?

Beginning with Japan in the 1960s, more and more countries are embracing high-speed trains to streamline domestic travel. Operating at speeds often in excess of 160 mph, high-speed rail networks are now well-developed across Europe and, more recently, in China.

March 23 - Philip Rojc

Los Angeles, California

BLOG POST

Debating the Future of Cities, and Urban Density, After the Pandemic

Numerous writers and experts are already examining the question about what happens to ideas about urbanism in a future forever altered by recent events.

March 23 - James Brasuell

Census Workers

FEATURE

2020 Census Adapting Quickly to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Delayed operations and recommendations for how college students should report their living conditions are key to the Census response to COVID-19 so far. The Census is still expected to wrap up by the end of July 2020.

March 19 - James Brasuell

Montgomery County

BLOG POST

How We Got Here

In "A History of Street Networks," Lawrence Aurbach discusses the intellectual movements driving the growth of suburban-style street design.

March 16 - Michael Lewyn

Los Angeles

FEATURE

Reforming Local Development Regulations for Sustainable Megaregions

Managing development at the scale of megaregions is possible. An excerpt from the recently published book, "Designing for the Megaregion: Meeting Urban Challenges at a New Scale," written by Jonathan Barnett, explains how.

March 12 - Jonathan Barnett

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.

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