Planetizen is requesting your input in creating the definitive list of mobile apps for professional, student, academic, or citizen planners—updated for a planning profession forever altered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

After a pandemic-length hiatus, Planetizen is relaunching its traditional documentation of the cutting-edge and tried-and-true mobile apps used by planners (urban, regional, city, or community). Just like the last time we conducted this survey in 2019, we are relying on input from the community of professional, student, academic, and citizen planners that make up the Planetizen audience.
Obviously a lot has changed since we last published a "Top Planning Apps" list in July 2019. The Internet has proven indispensable since the earliest days of the Covid-19 pandemic—as evidenced by the multitude of online dashboards, mapping tools, and numerous other online tools used by planners and the public to make sense of the new world as it evolved and mutated along with the once-novel coronavirus over the past 18-months-plus. The 2021 version of the survey adds a question about any apps that proved specifically, particularly helpful for planning during the pandemic.
Otherwise, this is the same survey Planetizen has been deploying since 2012, first written by Jennifer Evans Cowley, FAICP, former Planetizen contributor and current provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of North Texas.
The survey will still only take a couple minutes to complete. Please feel free to share the survey with colleagues to help Planetizen gather as much feedback as possible.
Planetizen will use the data collected in this survey to produce a list of contemporary planning apps later this year. For an example of the kind of information we hope to generate, and then share, see Planetizen's Best Planning Apps post from 2019.
Take the Best Planning Apps survey for 2021.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename DC Metro “Trump Train”
The Make Autorail Great Again Act would withhold federal funding to the system until the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), rebrands as the Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access (WMAGA).

The Simple Legislative Tool Transforming Vacant Downtowns
In California, Michigan and Georgia, an easy win is bringing dollars — and delight — back to city centers.

Albuquerque’s Microtransit: A Planner’s Answer to Food Access Gaps
New microtransit vans in Albuquerque aim to close food access gaps by linking low-income areas to grocery stores, cutting travel times by 30 percent and offering planners a scalable model for equity-focused transit.

This City Will Pay You to Meet Your Neighbors
A North Kansas City grant program offers up to $400 for residents to throw neighborhood block parties.

Commentary: Our Silence Will Not Protect Us
Keeping our heads down and our language inoffensive is not the right response to the times we’re in. Solidarity and courage is.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
