Infrastructure

Platte River

Building Rural Resilience

Rural areas have been attracting a lot attention for news sources traditionally devoted to urban news and information. A new report from the Brookings Institution is the latest example.

December 2, 2020 - Brookings

Scooter Citations

An Atlas of E-Scooter Policies

Introducing the Micromobility Policy Atlas.

December 2, 2020 - Shared-Use Mobility Center

Pedestrian Crosswalk

U.S. DOT Releases First-Ever Pedestrian Safety Plan

Record numbers of pedestrians have been killed by drivers in recent years. The federal government says a "team effort" will be necessary to stop the carnage.

December 2, 2020 - Smart Cities Dive

Muni Bus Overhead Wire

The Transit Catastrophe Continues: San Francisco, D.C. Forecast Service Cuts, Layoffs

Advocates have been waiting for the other shoe to drop as transit agencies deal with cratered revenues during the pandemic without support from Congress.

December 1, 2020 - San Francisco Examiner

Transit Planning

Dedicated Center Lane Planned for Madison Bus Rapid Transit

Some portions of the bus rapid transit (BRT) system planned for Madison, Wisconsin will resemble the fully realized BRT systems more common in other parts of the world.

December 1, 2020 - Wisconsin State Journal

Free Street

On Rent Control and a Green New Deal, Portland, Maine Voters Go Where Others Don't Dare

Rent control was dealt another high-profile setback in California, and the Green New Deal is a hot button issue stuck in limbo in Congress. Both efforts got the go-ahead from voters in Portland, Maine in November.

December 1, 2020 - Next City

Maryland Transit Administration

Maryland's Purple Line Gets the Green Light Again

The public-private partnership behind the Purple Line light rail project in Maryland fell apart in September, and has this past week been revived.

December 1, 2020 - The Washington Post

Book in the Park

The Top Urban Planning Books of 2020

The public health crisis of the coronavirus pandemic upended all the normal day-today routines this year. At least there are plenty of great urban planning books to read.

November 30, 2020 - Josh Stephens

Pandemic Drive-Thru

Cities Double Down on Car-Centric Services During the Pandemic

The pandemic has created even more obstacles to participation in society for those without a car.

November 30, 2020 - Transfers

First Responders

New York City Traffic Fatalities Pass 2019 Totals

The visions of a car-free utopia that might have seemed like a potential silver lining in March and April have given away to a tragic reality.

November 29, 2020 - New York Post

Renewable Energy

Bipartisan Compromise in Arizona Results in Carbon-Free Energy Plan

The state of Arizona has a plan to eliminate carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050.

November 27, 2020 - Inside Climate News

U.S.-Mexico Border

Flooded: How Natural Disasters Lead to Predatory Lending in the Rio Grande Valley

The devastation that communities in the Rio Grande Valley face is twofold: the initial destruction of the floods and the cycle of debt and poverty as a result of predatory loans.

November 27, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

South Mall Parking Lot

A Contemporary Update to the #BlackFridayParking Tradition

For years, Strong Towns readers have been pointing out the vast empty parking lots on the busiest shopping day of the year as evidence of poor land use regulations. Now the #iwishthisparkingwas hashtag imagines a different future.

November 27, 2020 - Strong Towns

Traffic Safety

70,000 Road Deaths in 20 Years: Texas Struggles With Traffic Safety

Texas has had a road fatality every single day for 20 years.

November 25, 2020 - Houston Chronicle

Los Angeles, California

Transportation Tech Innovation Zone Launched in Los Angeles

Urban Movement Labs (UML) is working with the office of Mayor Eric Garcetti to undertake a series of pilot programs to entice private companies to Los Angeles to develop and test innovation transportation technology.

November 25, 2020 - Smart Cities Dive

Transportation Planning

Criticisms for Two Seattle Transportation Studies

Two studies begin the process of spending billions of dollars for infrastructure in Ballard and Interbay in Seattle. According to this critique, the effort is off on the wrong foot.

November 25, 2020 - The Urbanist

Parking Scofflaws

New York Could Reward Parking Tattle Tales

Parking scofflaws beware: your neighbor could soon have a financial incentive to notice your hijinks.

November 25, 2020 - Curbed

Duwamish River

A Big Trail Win for Seattle

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and the Seattle City Council have given all the funding necessary to make the Georgetown-to-South Park Trail a reality.

November 24, 2020 - The Urbanist

Coronavirus and Transportation

WMATA Approved Buyouts and Service Reductions

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority couldn't wait for a still hypothetical bailout from Congress or the Biden administration.

November 24, 2020 - The Washington Post

San Gabriel Valley

Southern California Officials Slow to Accept Complete Streets

Proposed changes to the Los Angeles County Transportation Authority's highway program would allow local governments the flexibility to implement complete street elements with new projects. The proposition has been a surprisingly tough sell.

November 23, 2020 - Streetsblog LA

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.