Infrastructure

Missouri

Road Projects Face COVID-Induced Delays in Missouri

Missouri is taking stock of its construction program as gas taxes and sales taxes plummet.

April 7, 2020 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Factory Emissions

EPA Relaxes Environmental Rules, Cites Coronavirus

During the outbreak, the agency will allow companies to monitor themselves for pollution violations.

April 6, 2020 - The New York Times

Empty Streets

Denver, Minneapolis Lead Nation in Open Streets for COVID Response

Denver now has more than 13 miles of streets closed to car traffic. Only Minneapolis has more.

April 6, 2020 - Denverite

Sidewalk

For Social Distancing, Sidewalk Design Falls Short

Narrow sidewalks and pathways mean that people cannot realistically stay far enough apart.

April 5, 2020 - Kostelec Planning

Las Vegas Strip At Night

High-Speed Rail Between California and Las Vegas Closer to Becoming a Reality

A $4.8-billion project to run high-speed rail from Southern California to Las Vegas is securing needed funding.

April 3, 2020 - Los Angeles Times

Parking Space

New York Parking Is a Pricey but Valued Amenity

In a city where owning a car can be an expensive burden, off-street parking spaces are still highly desired commodities.

April 3, 2020 - The New York Times

Bangkok, Thailand

Straight Talk from White House Public Health Experts on What to Expect

The public got to view the models that caused the president on Monday to extend the White House Coronavirus Guideline for 30 days. Dr. Deborah Birx, who led the presentation, emphasized that success will come down to behavior to reduce fatalities.

April 2, 2020 - Politico

Driving

In N.Y.C., Speeding Is Up as Pandemic Continues

Data shows that drivers are speeding on the city’s mostly deserted streets.

April 2, 2020 - StreetsBlog NYC

Purple Line Extension Construction

Low Car Traffic Enables Accelerated Subway Construction in Southern California

The city of Beverly Hills, long an opponent of the project, is now taking advantage of a lack of car traffic to drastically speed up construction on the Purple Line subway extension.

April 2, 2020 - Streetsblog LA

Gold Line alongside 210 Freeway

As Coronavirus Spreads, Air Pollution Plummets

More people are driving less and staying at home. The result is significant improvements in air quality in cities across the country.

April 2, 2020 - The New York Times

Bart

BART San Jose Extension Faces Delays and Ballooning Costs

The extension to downtown is a complex and ambitious project facing many challenges and questions about feasibility.

April 1, 2020 - The Mercury News

Connectivity

The Dots of Connectivity and Broken Cultural Links

Connectivity is not just a question of geometry, according to this article by Fanis Grammenos. It's critical to consider what people connect for and how.

April 1, 2020 - Fanis Grammenos

COVID-19

How Coronavirus Will Change Cities, From Public to Private Lives

Changes are coming, but they don't have to be anti-urban, and they could mean a more resilient world for cities and communities of all shapes and sizes.

April 1, 2020 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research: The Urban Edge

Surveillance Technology

Will Infrastructure Planners Become Responsible for Facial Recognition Systems?

Facial recognition offers both benefits and risks. Planners can have a role in ensuring more of the former than the latter.

April 1, 2020 - Kayla Matthews

Empty Road

The Pandemic Offers a Chance to Rethink the Mobility Priorities of Cities

Cities have an opportunity to make bold changes that would give pedestrians and cyclists the space on streets that they deserve.

March 31, 2020 - The Verge

Port of Los Angeles

COVID-19 Impacts on Essential Goods Movement at the Port of Los Angeles

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka shares the priorities for safeguarding operations at the West Coast’s largest trading port.

March 30, 2020 - The Planning Report

Pop-Up Park

Keys to Safely Reopening Cities After the Pandemic

Cities have survived terrible infectious diseases before, because the power of concentrated human and economic activity is just so strong. When it’s time to reopen U.S. cities, a few key actions will ensure the future safety and health of all.

March 30, 2020 - Brookings

Coronavirus and Lime

How Global Cities Are Coping With the Pandemic

Social distancing is the word controlling most U.S. urban dwellers' thoughts and actions right now, but cities around the world have additional lessons in pandemic response to share.

March 29, 2020 - The City Fix

Baltimore MTA Bus

Baltimore Transit Lagging Behind Other Systems

State-run buses and subway trains in Baltimore have breakdown rates far higher than systems in other cities.

March 29, 2020 - The Baltimore Sun

Coronavirus Social Distancing

More Details for Planners on the Federal Stimulus Package

As the U.S. House of representatives approved the passive stimulus package approved by the U.S. Senate earlier in the week, more details emerged about the parts of the bill that will be relevant to planners during the coming weeks and months.

March 29, 2020 - NPR

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.