Exclusives
FEATURE
The California High-Speed Rail Project Illustrates America’s Transit Issues
Slow progress and a bloated budget have plagued the High-Speed Rail project linking San Francisco to Los Angeles, exposing deeper issues with American transit projects.
BLOG POST
Density and Driving: A Second Look
A common argument against more compact housing is that increased population density will only reduce vehicle miles traveled at moderate levels of density, as opposed to very low-density and very high-density areas. But this might not be so.
BLOG POST
What Role Does Health Care Play in Community Development?
Cities are economically diverse and require accessible health care systems, but this can be challenging to implement. Urban developers are working alongside health professionals to create affordable care for city residents.
BLOG POST
Urban Villages for People with Disabilities
Compact, multimodal urban villages can provide independent mobility for people with disabilities (PWD), ensuring that everybody can enjoy freedom, opportunity, and romance.
FEATURE
Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.
PLANOPEDIA
What Is Supportive Housing?
Supportive housing combines affordable housing with social services providers to help people experiencing homelessness, disability, or other hardships transition to permanent housing.
BLOG POST
The Climate Story You Might Have Missed
Surface temperatures reached 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) in India and Pakistan at the end of April. Wet bulb temperature, the point at which the human body can no longer cool itself by sweating, is 35 degrees Celsius.
BLOG POST
RAISE Proposals Are in; What Will it Mean for Climate Change?
The deadline for the first discretionary program to accept applications since the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law was April 14, marking the day as one of the most consequential in America’s response to climate change.
PLANOPEDIA
What Is Automobile Dependency?
Automobile dependency is a term used to describe households who must rely on private vehicles for everyday transportation, often due to a lack of safe pedestrian infrastructure, ineffective or absent public transit options, and sprawl.
PLANOPEDIA
What Is a Planned Unit Development?
A Planned Unit Development (PUD) is a specific type of plan or development commonly associated with master planned communities and sprawl. The specific definitions of a PUD vary by jurisdiction, but the term generally refers to a flexible approach to the planning of a variety of housing types and land uses on a relatively large portion of land.
BLOG POST
Day Two of the National Planning Conference: Staying on the Cutting Edge
The American Planning Association gathers for its first in-person National Planning Conference since 2019. Planetizen is in attendance. Here is some of what we saw on the second day of the conference.
BLOG POST
Day One of the National Planning Conference—Reunions, Pandemic Planning, Equity, and VMT
The American Planning Association gathers for its first in-person National Planning Conference since 2019. Planetizen is in attendance, and here is some of what we saw on the first day of the conference.
PLANOPEDIA
What Is LOS?
Level of Service (LOS) defines how well vehicle traffic flows along a street or road. LOS is one of the most influential metrics in planning, with critical relevance for both land use and transportation planning.
BLOG POST
Urban Village Planning Checklist
Urban villages can maximize accessibility and inclusivity, helping residents be healthy, wealthy, and happy. Here are specific targets for planning them.
PLANOPEDIA
What Is Area Median Income?
Frequently used to determine eligibility for housing assistance programs, Area Median Income measures the midpoint of an area’s income distribution.
FEATURE
How Planning Fails to Solve Congestion
Solutions for congestion are never as simple and easy as armchair planners and engineers would like you to believe—especially those who suggest that congestion can be solved by forever building more roadway capacity.
BLOG POST
Don't Wokewash the Status Quo
There might be good reasons to oppose speed cameras and red light cameras—but racial justice is not one of them.
BLOG POST
California Cities Could Face a Zoning Reckoning
As the state toughens rules related to its housing allocation process, cities statewide may finally be forced to overhaul their zoning codes to ensure an adequate supply of housing at all affordability levels.
FEATURE
Planning and the Complicated Causes and Effects of Congestion
What do planners know about congestion, and what can they do about it? Explanations and solutions are less obvious than they seem (part one of a three-part series).
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
