Government / Politics

Congresswoman

Housing Advocates Gain More Allies on Capitol Hill, by Way of New York City

A growing number of congressional representatives serving the city of New York support aggressive public investment in housing programs.

November 5, 2020 - Curbed

Stars and Stripes

2020 Election Results for Transportation and Land Use

Thinking beyond the presidency: Here's an Election Day 2020 roundup of election issues related to planning, urban design, and the built and natural environments.

November 4, 2020 - James Brasuell

Mass Shootings

Corona Crisis in America: The Metropolitan Area to Watch

The battle to control the coronavirus in the U.S is being led by 50 governors and the D.C. mayor, but ultimately it is at the local level where decisions are often the most consequential. Among large counties, the crisis is most severe in El Paso.

November 3, 2020 - The Texas Tribune

Lafayette Square

Two Presidential Candidates, Two Approaches to Housing Policy

The Biden and Trump campaigns are from different worlds on housing policy, according to this analysis.

November 3, 2020 - CityLimits

Maroon Creek, Aspen, Colorado

The Environment Hangs in the Balance on Election Day

Both the presidential election and numerous state and local ballot measures will determine the future of environmental policy in the United States.

November 3, 2020 - High Country News

King County Metro Transit

Transit Spending on the Ballot in Seattle and Washington

Voters in the city of Seattle will consider a sales tax to fund bus transit service, while voters around the state of Washington will have a chance to send new leaders to Congress.

November 2, 2020 - The Seattle Times

facades of victorian style residences in San Francisco

How California Plans to Slow the Corporate Takeover of the Residential Market

The state of California is trying to prevent a repeat of one of the most significant consequences of the Great Recession: large Wall Street interests buying for-sale housing in bulk for conversion to apartments.

November 2, 2020 - Next City

Cresskill, New Jerset

The CARES Act Was Supposed to Protect NJ Tenants from Eviction. It Didn’t.

State activists say eviction cases were filed in violation of the CARES Act’s ban on evictions. Pre-trial settlement conferences are further complicating the situation.

November 2, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

Drive-Through Coronavirus Testing

'We are Entering the Steep Slope of the Epidemic Curve'

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, President Trump's former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, warned CBS viewers recently that the U.S. was at a "dangerous tipping point" in the pandemic. "We are on the cusp of exponential growth," he added later.

November 1, 2020 - CBS News

Society Hill Historic Buildings

Downzoning for Society Hill Back on After the Philadelphia City Council Overrides Mayoral Veto

One of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Philadelphia is increasing parking requirements and limiting building heights at all costs.

October 26, 2020 - WHYY

COVID-19

COVID's Extensive 'Excess Mortality'

The pandemic's cumulative death toll in the U.S. does not include over 100,000 fatalities that are directly or indirectly attributable to COVID-19, according to a CDC report released Oct. 20 on the subject of "excess deaths."

October 25, 2020 - Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

Bears Ears National Monument

The Trump Administration's Trail of Broken Environmental Regulations

Critics of the Trump administration who chide the president for a lack of accomplishments should check the environmental record.

October 25, 2020 - The New York Times

Jaywalking

Pedestrian Safety Experts: Decriminalize Jaywalking

Angie Schmitt and Charles T. Brown make nine arguments against the criminalization of jaywalking.

October 22, 2020 - Bloomberg CityLab

Black LIves Matter

Valuing Black Lives and Black Cities

Andre M. Perry’s "Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities" reveals the web of historical and contemporary socioeconomic barriers that maintain the racial wealth divide.

October 21, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

Coronavirus

North Dakota Physicians Plead for State and Local Leaders to Mandate Masks

The medical community is sounding the alarm in North Dakota, where hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID patients. With the governor opposed to issuing a statewide mask mandate, physicians are asking local governments and the public for help.

October 21, 2020 - Grand Forks Herald

Restaurant Business

Announcing an Antidote for Planning Uncertainty: A Pandemic Tool Kit for Local Governments

A new toolkit shares 22 actions governments should take to get the economy restarted, including the regulatory or policy tools needed to implement the actions.

October 20, 2020 - PlaceShakers

Downtown Los Angeles

Op-Ed: It’s Long Past Time for Planning Reform in L.A.

Another corruption scandal involving a Los Angeles city councilmember highlights the urgent need for major planning changes in the city.

October 19, 2020 - Los Angeles Times

Las Vegas Golf

Las Vegas Golf Course With a History of Development Controversy Cleared for Houses

A golf course formerly owned by "legendary sports bettor-turned-convicted insider trader" Billy Walters finally has the residential zoning that created so much controversy in the past.

October 19, 2020 - Las Vegas Review-Journal

Construction Industry

A Bipartisan Case for Mass Timber—Combating Wildfires and Developing Local Economies

What’s good for our forests and planet can also be good for our jobs, communities, and the economy. That’s why we’re writing this together—an ex-Democratic political operative and an ex-Republican staff member who want to see mass timber flourish.

October 19, 2020 - ConorBronsdon

Coronavirus

Herd Immunity Finds Receptive Audience in White House and Florida

A trio of epidemiologists from Stanford, Harvard, and the University of Oxford have joined the president's new coronavirus medical advisor, Scott Atlas, in promoting an alternative approach to dealing with coronavirus infections.

October 18, 2020 - The Washington Post

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.