Infrastructure

Infrastructure

Trump's Latest Deregulatory Itch: The National Environmental Policy Act

In a move called "one of the biggest — and most audacious — deregulatory actions of the Trump administration," President Trump yesterday announced plans to weaken the National Environmental Policy Act for federal infrastructure projects.

July 16, 2020 - The New York Times

Honolulu, Hawaii

Successful Honolulu Open Street Program Extended

Due to its popularity, Honolulu is extending the Kalakaua Open Street Sundays program through the end of July. The program was first launched on June 14 in a collaboration between the city and the Hawaii Bicycling League.

July 15, 2020 - Pacific Business News

Cities for People

Jan Gehl on 60 Years of Designing Cities for People

The 10th anniversary of "Cities for People" offers the occasion for this interview with Jan Gehl, who has devoted a 60-year career to ideas about humanistic city planning—ideas of increasing relevance in 2020.

July 15, 2020 - Jan Gehl

Highway Widening

Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Maryland's Big Highway Widening Project Released

The state of Maryland is moving forward with a highway widening plan that would spend $11 billion in a private-partnership to add toll lanes to two Capital Beltway highways.

July 15, 2020 - DCist

New York City Traffic Cop

Federal Inaction Delays Congestion Pricing by at Least a Year in New York City

Bad news for one of the most innovative transportation planning schemes in the country, with long-term impacts on planning and construction in New York City.

July 15, 2020 - New York Daily News

London Bridge

London to Replace 2,000 Car Parking Spots With Bike Storage

London announced another sweeping round of changes to its transportation priority, further cementing the future of active transportation both during and after the pandemic.

July 15, 2020 - Forbes

Choice Neighborhoods

Lawyers Connect Breonna Taylor's Murder to Choice Neighborhoods Initiative in Louisville

The lawyers for Breonna Taylor accuse police in Louisville of acting on behalf of a redevelopment plan led by the city with funding support from the federal government.

July 14, 2020 - Louisville Courier Journal

Bus Lane

More Bus Lanes Coming to the Nation's Capital

Three new stretches of street will prioritize bus traffic in Washington, D.C. in the name of faster service and social distancing.

July 14, 2020 - DCist

New York City Subway

New Model for Federal Funding Needed for Emergency Public Transit Funding

The federal funding for public transit systems created by the CARES Act followed the normal federal funding formulas, which don't adequately respond to the realities of the pandemic, according to TransitCenter.

July 14, 2020 - TransitCenter

Florida Retirement Community

The Stage for Trump's Racist Tweet: The Villages, Florida

The Villages is one of the strangest, and most significant, planning and development stories in recent memory—with surprisingly regular relevance in the media and numerous intersections to politics and culture.

July 13, 2020 - James Brasuell

High Speed Rail California

New Environmental Analysis for High-Speed Rail from San Francisco to San Jose

Issues of track blending and electrification factor heavily in the latest environmental impact report and environmental impact statement released last week for the California High-Speed Rail project.

July 13, 2020 - California High-Speed Rail Authority

I-94 North-South Project

New Governor, Same Billion Dollar Freeway Expansion Plan

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is picking up a plan previously championed and abandoned by former Gov. Scott Walker: The North-South expansion of I-94 west of Milwaukee.

July 13, 2020 - Wisconsin Public Radio

Ocean Drive Open Streets

Cars Retake Their Place on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach

Ocean Drive in South Beach is the site of an ongoing pilot project in making space for pedestrians and businesses in space previously devoted to cars. Advocates and some local politicians don't like the direction that the experiment is headed.

July 13, 2020 - Miami Herald

Aerial photo of the US 131/M-6/68th St. interchange in Wyoming, MIchigan

Michigan to Study Feasibility of Toll Roads

The search for new road funding continues in Michigan.

July 12, 2020 - Detroit Free Press

Bike Infrastructure

New York Poised to Become a Biking City

Could the pandemic be a tipping point for a century of car-centric planning in New York City's to give way to a more bike-friendly city?

July 12, 2020 - The New York Times

Manhattan, New York City, New York

Pandemic-Proof Real Estate: Whither NYC?

The president of Hudson Companies and The Planning Report’s first editor, David Kramer, discusses New York City’s COVID response and recovery and its likely impact on multifamily housing development going forward.

July 10, 2020 - The Planning Report

Emergency Sign

COVID Crisis Triggers Unprecedented Medical Measure in Arizona

At the request of the state's largest health network, Arizona has activated the "Crisis Standards of Care," meaning that if a hospital lacks capacity, it can turn away new patients, likely to be seniors, sending them home. Other states may follow.

July 9, 2020 - Arizona Mirror

TTC Subway

Expedited Transit Planning Process Passed Into Law in Ontario

The controversial subway plan announced by Ontario Premier Doug Ford in April 2020 now has legislative support in the form of a new law that expedites the planning, design, and construction process for transit projects in the province.

July 9, 2020 - Mass Transit

Electric Car Charging

A New 'Playbook' for Infrastructure Development

The New Partnership on Infrastructure coalition's "America's New Playbook for Infrastructure" calls for just and resilient development moving forward from the coronavirus pandemic.

July 9, 2020 - Smart Cities Dive

Hospital Signs

From Ventilators to Ventilation: The Shifting Focus of the Pandemic

Ventilator availability is a major indicator for states in the South and West that are seeing record hospitalizations, but in New York, where Gov. Cuomo announced that New York City had moved to Phase III of reopening, the topic was ventilation.

July 9, 2020 - Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

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.