Infrastructure

Texas Wind Power

Trump Tilts at Windmills

The media raised their collective eyebrows at statements made by President Trump about wind energy at an event this week.

December 24, 2019 - The Hill

Robert Moses

On Progressive Impotence and an Obsolete Penn Station

In a deep dive into the sad state of the nation's busiest transit hub, Marc J. Dunkelman raises a dispiriting question. In their zeal to ward off future Robert Moseses, have progressives crippled government's power to carry out its job?

December 24, 2019 - Politico

Washington

A Transit and Land Use Planning Shift in Federal Way, Washington

Federal funding for Sound Transit's Federal Way Link extension and a new transit-oriented land use plan are changing the future of Federal Way.

December 23, 2019 - The Urbanist

Muni Bus Market Street

People Over Cars: The Future of San Francisco

The San Bruno Avenue Multimodal Improvement Project moved forward in San Francisco despite local resistance. The planning and political calculus behind the project is a sign of more to come in the City by the Bay.

December 23, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

Green Hydrogen, Plus Storage, Key to Los Angeles' Plan for Carbon-Free Electricity

The Los Angeles municipal utility will convert a Utah coal power plant to run on natural gas in 2025. According to a proposal unveiled Dec. 10, the plant will incrementally be converted to run entirely on hydrogen, a zero-emission fuel, by 2045.

December 22, 2019 - Utility Dive

Electric Bus

First Wave of 500 Planned All-Electric Buses Rolling on the Streets of New York

The New York MTA currently operates ten all-electric buses, including its first all-electric articulated bus.

December 22, 2019 - Smart Cities Dive

Purple Line

Preserving Affordable Housing Along Maryland Light Rail Line

A new plan lays out strategies to keep housing affordable for low- and moderate-income residents along the corridor of Maryland’s new Purple Line.

December 21, 2019 - WAMU

Car Graveyard

3 Ways to Overcome a Century of Car-Centric Planning

The consequences of car-centric planning are clear, a century after cars took over streets and lives across this country. According to this article, so to is a new way forward.

December 21, 2019 - Citymetric

Carew Tower

15 New Special Taxing Districts Approved in Cincinnati

The city of Cincinnati is committing to tax increment financing as a tool to invest in underserved, low-income neighborhoods.

December 20, 2019 - Cincinnati Enquirer

Downtown Phoenix Skyline

Arizona Environmental Agency Cutbacks Significant, Says Report

A new report says funding and staffing cuts at the state’s environmental protection agency could prevent it from adequately protecting public health and the environment.

December 20, 2019 - Phoenix New Times

Hyperloop

Experts: Great Lakes Hyperloop Study Full of Dubious Claims

About that Hyperloop report…

December 20, 2019 - Jalopnik

Amtrak

Virginia to Pay $3.7 Billion for 225 Miles of Rail Track

New passenger rail improvements for the Virginia Railway Express and Amtrak are on the way in 2020.

December 20, 2019 - WTOP

Hillsboro, Oregon

The Death and Life of Great American…Suburbs?

Long considered beneath serious attention by design and planning elites, suburban settlements in the United States are emerging as key arenas to address crucial environmental, economic, and social issues.

December 17, 2019 - Michael Mehaffy

Maryland Monorail

Monorail Study Moves Forward in Maryland

A plan to widen Interstate 270 in Maryland was approved earlier this year under the condition that the state also study a plan to build a monorail along the route.

December 17, 2019 - Greater Greater Washington

Eminent Domain Sparks Protest in Atlanta

Atlanta's worsening housing affordability set the stage for a controversy over the city's use of eminent domain to build a new park and stormwater retention facility.

December 17, 2019 - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Highway 290 Construction

New HOT Lanes Open in Houston

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County opened a new segment of HOT lanes, open to carpools and toll paying solo drivers, on U.S. 290 in Houston this week.

December 17, 2019 - Houston Chronicle

Ben Carson

The Decade in Urban Planning

A look back at the biggest stories and themes from the world of urban planning in the decade that was the 2010s.

December 16, 2019 - James Brasuell

CTA Chicago

Making Climate Change a Priority for Transportation Planning

The threat of climate change has not guided transportation planning in Chicago, and the city and region could be doing much more to promote sustainable transportation, according to the article.

December 15, 2019 - Streetsblog Chicago

Lisbon, Portugal

What Can Brain Science Tell Us About Cities?

Cities are not unlike brains in their capacity to evolve along complex, self-organizing patterns. Studying what some researchers call the "urban connectome" may give us insight into how best to organize the places where we live.

December 15, 2019 - CNU Public Square

Mississippi River Missouri

Leaving Flood-Prone Area Free of Development Would Save Billions, Study Says

It makes more fiscal sense to buy flood-prone land and conserve it than to cover the costs of the damages to developments, according to researchers from the University of Bristol and other institutions.

December 15, 2019 - St. Louis Public Radio

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.