Government / Politics
Dallas to Consider Smoking Ban in All City Parks
If the city of Dallas bans smoking its parks, it would catch up on a trail blazed (not blazed, rather) by Houston and Frisco.
Street Fighting Woman: New Book by Janette Sadik-Khan Details Time at NYC DOT
The media response to Janette Sadik-Khan's new book has been at scale with the New York-sized ambitions of her tenure as commissioner of transportation.
Top Priority for Federal Railroad Administration: Reducing Crossing Crashes
Vehicle crashes at grade crossings have emerged as a top priority for Sarah Feinberg, the new Federal Railroad Administrator. Fatalities at rail crossings in 2014 increased by 15 percent from 2013.
Zoning Has Not Outlived All Its Uses...Yet
With the sharing economy repurposing and mutating the one-size (and one size only) fits all world of zoning, is it time to jettison our old zoning codes?
Landowner's Response to Development Failure: Call in the Klan
A landowner looking for revenge after neighbors and local officials prevented a proposal to develop 24-acres has gotten creative in irritating the locals.
Big Oil Takes on Clean Fuels, Again
Having lost at the California Supreme Court, Big Oil will take their battle against California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard to the legislature with influential lobbyists.

The Life and Death of Urban Hierarchies
Kristen Jeffers writes that she's changed her mind about the existence of hierarchies among U.S. cities.

Happy Hour: Now You Can Drink on the Streets of Manhattan
The city of New York has decided that police have better things to do than bust people for drinking in public. Cheers!
City Hall 'Outsider' on Opening Up L.A.'s Development Process
Los Angeles is experiencing an elevated anti-growth conversation and suspicion of insider dealings at City Hall. In the midst of this, a councilmember known as an "outsider" aims to reconcile his constituents with the city's development processes.
New Republican Majority Flexes Muscle on Southern California Air Board
The long-time executive director of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, Barry Wallerstein, may be removed to make the powerful regulatory agency more business-friendly. The board meets in closed-session on Friday.

Columbus Bucks Trends, Grows Steadily
The latest installment of the "Planners Across America" series visits Columbus, Ohio, for a conversation with Planning Administrator Kevin Wheeler.
New Hampshire Wants Commuter Rail to Boston
A strong coalition is pushing for a $4 million planning effort to lay the tracks for commuter rail between New Hampshire and Boston.

Too Many Chiefs; Not Enough Authority
A newly hired cohort of chief bicycle officers is only the latest example of "title inflation," according to an article in Governing magazine.
House Transportation Committee to Explore Sustainable Funding Options
Federal transportation leaders recognize that sustainable transportation funding options are needed to meet America's infrastructure needs. At AASHTO's Annual Washington Briefing, different funding strategies were proposed by key Congress members.
Brooklyn Queens Streetcar Hopes to Learn from D.C. Streetcar's Mistakes
The long-awaited opening of the D.C. Streetcar on Feb. 27 brings time for reflection on Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposed $2.5 billion Brooklyn Queens Connector, part streetcar, part light rail. D.C.'s line took a decade of planning and construction.
When a 3-Foot Clearance for Passing a Cyclist Is Not Enough
Sharrows and 3-foot passing laws are meant to make biking safer in streets in the absence of bike lanes. Bike activists in Iowa want to take safety a step further by requiring motorists to move to another lane, just as they would if passing a car.

America's Infrastructural Reckoning
Through the lens of Henry Petroski's new book, Tom Vanderbilt discusses why infrastructure, as we have come to define it, is such a fraught topic in American life.

New Tool Accesses Chicago Open Data
OpenGrid gathers together Chicago's open data, letting users specify areas of focus on a map of the city. Users can also overlay different datasets on the same map.

Op-Ed: Facial Recognition on Transit Goes a Step Too Far
Despite its insistence that the technology would only target criminals, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) should reconsider using facial recognition software to address crime. The potential for abuse may be too high.
San Francisco Offers to Refund $6 Million in Overpaid Parking Tickets
You might not believe it, but the city of San Francisco is offering refunds after realizing it overcharged on parking tickets.
Pagination
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.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont