Exclusives
BLOG POST
Jim Crow Robbed America of Public Pools. It’s Time to get Them Back.
Disparity amongst who can and can’t swim in America isn’t an accident — and it's deadly. Let’s reclaim the community pool as an essential public space.
BLOG POST
Tracing the Destruction of the Highway Baltimore Never Built
In “Road to Nowhere: How a Highway Map Wrecked Baltimore,” historian Emily Lieb demonstrates how the mere threat of a highway project, combined with systemic redlining and predatory real estate practices, can dismantle a community just as effectively as physical construction can.
BLOG POST
Transit Scheduling 101: Scheduling Math ➗✖️
Frequency, runtime, layover, cycle time, and how they all relate to determine how much transit service costs to operate — all in this installment of Transit Scheduling 101!
FEATURE
Publishing for Planners: A New Era for Island Press
As the legendary legacy publisher transitions into a new life phase, publisher Heather Boyer and senior editor Stacy Eisenstark reflect on the past and the future of creating books for planners.
FEATURE
Planning Trends for 2026: States and Cities Take Initiative, Passenger Rail Gains Steam, and the Costs of AI Revealed
With federal funding for everything from transportation projects to housing assistance under threat, city and state governments are poised to take a stronger role in building strong, resilient local economies and public services.
BLOG POST
The Superstar Metro Argument... And Why It Fails
One argument against solving the housing shortage in large, expensive cities is that growth in those cities will drain people and wealth from declining areas. Data does not agree.
BLOG POST
A Classic Revived, and More Important Than Ever
In “Livable Streets 2.0.” Donald Appleyard’s son, Bruce Appleyard, builds on his father’s seminal work and examines what it means today in an age of autonomous vehicles, modern policing technology, “20 is Plenty” and more.
BLOG POST
What do We Want, Speed or Affordability?
Conventional planning assumes that travellers want to save time, but evidence indicates that they usually prefer to save money. How can planning better reflect these preferences?
BLOG POST
Transit Scheduling 101 — What is Transit Scheduling?
When a 10 minute change in layover can cost your system 33% more to run the same route, the nuts and bolts of good scheduling start looking darn sexy.
BLOG POST
We are Perfectly Poised for Another Robert Moses
When “America is Building Again” while decentering equity, the ghost of Robert Moses haunts us.
FEATURE
Meet our new (Proudly Gen Z!) Transportation Columnist!
In a new monthly column, Kristina Curtiss will “nerd out” (her words, not ours) on transportation system safety, active transportation planning, sustainability — and how it all hangs together.
FEATURE
Inside the Initiative to Protect Lake George by Reducing Road Salt
Ten years after launching a plan to cut salt pollution, Lake George is seeing results, and the model is spreading across the country and beyond.
BLOG POST
December Must-Reads: Top 10 Articles From Last Month
As cities and states change zoning laws to accommodate more housing, federal funding cuts and immigration raids that are impacting the construction labor market could slow efforts to alleviate the housing crisis.
BLOG POST
Public Sector Consulting Isn’t Evil, but We Have to Keep it Honest
At its best, public sector consulting builds knowledge and delivers value for taxpayers. At its worst, it entrenches dependence and wastes resources. A code of ethics for keeping consulting ethical.
FEATURE
Great Cities Don’t Just Acknowledge That We Age In Them — They Build For It. We Can Too.
We age in sidewalks, public spaces, transit stops, and community centers — not in hospitals. As populations age, the built environment will determine whether our cities thrive or struggle in the decades ahead.
FEATURE
String Lights are Secular! The Holiday Case for Year-round Placemaking
The holidays make streets and spaces warm, cozy, and welcoming. Why don’t we do that year round?
FEATURE
Top 10 Island Press Built Environment Books
From “Life Between Buildings” to “Human Transit,” Island Press has played a critical role in building the catalogue of literature that is foundational to urban planning.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
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.
