Government / Politics
Commentary: Why We Need a Federal Definition of ‘Rural’
A patchwork of definitions of rural versus urban areas has real consequences for communities seeking federal funding.
From Brownfields to Community Assets: A Conference on Land Revitalization
The 2025 California Land Recycling Conference (CALRC) will convene experts in Carson, CA, from September 16-18 to discuss brownfield redevelopment, sustainability, and equitable land reuse, with session proposals open until March 31, 2025.
Good Planning Under Bad Leadership
Planners must sometimes work under bad leadership. Here are suggestions for responsive planning in challenging political environments.
Equity in Energy: Protecting Livelihoods and Restoring Communities
The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy must be equitable, ensuring that workers receive support, communities are revitalized, and degraded lands are restored to create a more sustainable and inclusive future.
How Might Tariffs and Deportations Affect Affordable Housing Development?
Many affordable housing developers worry Trump’s proposed taxes on imports and crackdown on immigration will be detrimental to the industry. Others hope deregulation reduces development costs enough to offset those effects. What’s the most likely outcome?
What Is ‘Affordable Housing’?
For such a commonly used term, “affordable housing” means a lot of different things to different people and in different contexts.For such a commonly used term, “affordable housing” means a lot of different things to different people and in different contexts.
Avoiding Misplacement of a Place
To balance the interests of current residents and economic well-being, does a city's signature identity need an update?
National Housing Group Criticizes Executive Orders
The National Low Income Housing Coalition issued a statement charging that Trump’s executive orders would worsen the housing crisis.
Annapolis Unveils Interactive Map to Boost Urban Tree Canopy
Annapolis has launched an interactive Tree Canopy Map to engage residents in urban forestry efforts, highlighting tree coverage data and encouraging community involvement to achieve the city’s 50 percent canopy goal by 2050.
Looking for the Light in a Dark Age
Professor Glenn Lyons offers insights about the challenges facing planners in times of rapid technological, cultural, and social change, in Local Transport Today's first ‘Deep Thinking Initiative’ article.
Preserving Essential Information in an Uncertain World
The new U.S. federal administration may eliminate useful information sources. Planners should download and preserve key documents and datasets.
While California Fires Burn On, Residents Take on Rent Gouging
Residents have already seen online listings skyrocketing in price—despite laws against such hikes. With fires still raging, LA and Pasadena tenants are demanding protections against rent raises and eviction.
The Urban Heat Divide: Addressing LA’s Thermal Inequities
LA's thermal inequities leave low-income, minority neighborhoods disproportionately hotter and more vulnerable, prompting advocacy and policy efforts to address these disparities through green infrastructure and equitable climate investments.
Did Brookings Get It Wrong?
A recent Brookings study on the 2020 homicide wave tells a simple story: unemployment plus closed schools plus guns equals crime. But is the story accurate?
America’s Housing Crisis: Lessons Ignored and Challenges Ahead
A recent study reveals how decades of policy missteps, demographic shifts, and economic forces fueled America’s housing crisis, leaving millions — especially millennials — struggling amid rising demand, racial disparities, and climate-driven emergencies.
How the Trump Presidency Could Impact Urban Planning
An analysis of potential changes in federal housing, transportation, and climate policies.
New Haven Reaches for Reinvention Amidst Failures of Urban Renewal
Seeking recovery from decades of failed urban renewal projects, New Haven rings in the new year by continuing a series of small-scale urban planning initiatives to reinvent its municipal spaces.
How Transit-Accessible are Presidential Museums?
Most Presidential libraries and museums have some transit accessibility, but none are in big-city downtowns.
Advancing the National Asian Pacific American Museum
Supporters are mobilizing, fundraising, and facilitating the creation of a compelling Congressional report to secure authorization for a Smithsonian museum that represents and preserves the diverse histories and cultures of Asian Pacific Americans.
December Must-Reads: Top 10 Articles From Last Month
Making room for more housing, fixing broken sidewalks, and our favorite books of the year.
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.
planning NEXT
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
