Infrastructure

Digital City

How the Pandemic Is Reshaping Ideas of the 'Smart City'

Accelerated investment in smart city technologies presents increased opportunity for connection and data-driven decision making, so long as cities can avoid the common pitfalls of implementation.

August 5, 2020 - Citymetric

Image of Chicago Lake Shore Drive Freeway

Bus Lanes, Desired by Advocates for Chicago's Lake Shore Drive Project, Back on the Table

After releasing a list of project alternatives that didn't include new bus lanes in the existing roadway, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has changed its mind.

August 5, 2020 - Streetsblog Chicago

Sign

'Rail Excursions' From L.A. to Las Vegas, $500 a Trip, Planned for Spring

The race to connect Southern California to Las Vegas by private passenger rail continues.

August 4, 2020 - Las Vegas Review-Journal

Parking and Driving

NACTO Recommends Default Safety Setting for Speed Limits

A step toward an overhaul of the way speed is managed on city streets around the country.

August 2, 2020 - Smart Cities Dive

New York City

New York Updating its Comprehensive Waterfront Plan

Vision 2030 will update the award winning Vision 2020 New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan.

August 2, 2020 - NYC Planning

Chicago River Industrial Area

Chicago's New Approach to Air Quality Includes Zoning Changes

Improved air quality can help achieve equitable economic growth, according to Chicago's newly announced Air Quality Agenda.

July 31, 2020 - Smart Cities Dive

San Fernando Valley

Friday Funny: Al Fresco on the Freeway

Fake news site The Onion imagines the logical result of car-centric planning during a pandemic.

July 31, 2020 - The Onion

Coal Mine

Minnesota Slowly Turns Away from Coal-Fired Energy

Minnesota utility company Xcel Energy plans to close four coal plants by 2030 and fully switch to renewable energy sources by 2050.

July 30, 2020 - MinnPost

ADA

The ADA Turned 30, but Universal Accessibility Still Far From the Reality

While many cities have shown efforts to implement accessible design since the 1990 adoption of the American Disabilities Act, more must be done.

July 29, 2020 - Smart Cities Dive

Indoor Kale

Lockdown Benefits Urban Farmers In Paris

Pandemic induced lockdown kept Parisians within 1 km of their homes during lockdown, benefiting urban farmers and advocates for a diversified local food supply.

July 29, 2020 - Citymetric

Agrihood

Agrihoods: Futureproofing the Cities of America

The development and planning team behind Middlebrook Farm in Iowa explains how the master-planned community balances productive farmland with new community development.

July 28, 2020 - Jim  MacRae and Steve  Bruere

Coronavirus in Oregon

The Great Debate: Will the Pandemic Alter the Course of Urbanism?

The geography for the coronavirus has changed, but most of the debate about the future of cities continues along many of the same lines as in the early months of the pandemic.

July 27, 2020 - James Brasuell

Washington, D.C.

How Much Parking Is Too Much Parking at D.C.'s Union Station?

Plans to expand and upgrade Union Station in D.C. might have gone overboard with parking, according to the public comments on the project's draft Environmental Impact Statement.

July 27, 2020 - Greater Greater Washington

The Boring Company

Public Underwhelmed by Latest Look at the Boring Company's Work in Las Vegas

Elon Musk poked the transit planning community on social media last week with a rendering of the forthcoming Las Vegas Convention Center Loop tunnel.

July 27, 2020 - Curbed

Gas

Survey Finds Growing Support for a Mileage Fee Over the Gas Tax

An annual survey by the Mineta Transportation Institute found new levels of support for a change in the way the federal government raises money from, and for, highway infrastructure.

July 24, 2020 - Streetsblog USA

Coronavirus and Transportation

Ridership Up, Speeds Down for Buses in New York City

The new normal might be fleeting on buses in New York City, but it's already different than the normal routine during the early months of the pandemic.

July 23, 2020 - StreetsBlog NYC

A photo of protesters on the front lawn of the Ohio Statehouse during the State of the Union speech by Governer Kasich.

Ohio House Speaker Arrested on Bribery Charges Connected to $1 Billion Nuclear Industry Bailout

A bombshell in Ohio, as the FBI arrested Republican Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four colleagues on bribery charges connected with a $1 billion bailout for the state's nuclear industry.

July 22, 2020 - The Columbus Dispatch

Beltway Traffic

Car-Centric Choices Shortchange the Walkability Goals of the 2010 Tysons Comp Plan

Ten years after Tysons, an unincorporated community in Fairfax County, Virginia, approved an award winning comprehensive plan, there's still work to be done to achieve its ambitious goals.

July 21, 2020 - The Washington Post

Coronavirus and Transportation

Pandemic Planning Must Reconcile With the Inequities of the Past

The ongoing debate about the role of marginalized communities in the emergency planning programs of the pandemic has now been detailed on the pages of the New York Times.

July 21, 2020 - The New York Times

Campaign Rally

Pandemic Containment Funding in Jeopardy

When President Trump asserted, "We do too much (coronavirus) testing," he wasn't kidding. He wants to strip $25 billion in funding for testing and tracing needed by states where COVID-19 cases are surging and testing is not meeting demand.

July 20, 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.