Infrastructure

Effort to Rid Apartments of Lead Poisoning Risk Pushes Forward in Philadelphia

It’s been a tough slog for a bill designed to force landlords to remove lead from all buildings before they can charge tenants for rent.

August 1, 2019 - PlanPhilly

Charging Station

Feds Spend $85 Million on Next Gen Bus Technology

The awardees of the Low-No grant program were announced recently. Only transit systems looking to add hydrogen fuel cells, battery electric engines, and related infrastructure improvement need apply.

July 31, 2019 - Federal Transit Administration

Port Authority of Allegheny County

Electric Bus Rapid Transit Between Pittsburgh and Oakland Takes Crucial Steps Forward

The Port Authority of Allegheny County will lead the remainder of a project to deliver major transportation improvements between Downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland.

July 31, 2019 - The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pedestrian Signal

No 3D Crosswalks in Cincinnati After Federal Guidance Finds Risk

A proposal to paint three-dimensional crosswalks near schools, approved by the Cincinnati City Council, has been rejected by the Cincinnati Department of Transportation and Engineering.

July 31, 2019 - WCPO

Digital City

AI and the Digital City

Adie Tomer, of the Brookings Institution, writes about the role of artificial intelligence in the new digital age transforming cities.

July 31, 2019 - Brookings

Internet Cables

Local Internet Is Faster

More than 300,000 speed tests showed that six of the ten fastest internet service providers were locally run, including the fastest: Sonic in California.

July 31, 2019 - Vice

Alaskan Way Viaduct

Congestion Pricing Gains Traction in Seattle

Congestion pricing is a popular subject of conversation in Seattle, even if the idea hasn't yet proven popular with voters. The city is looking for ways to lead on climate change by reducing emissions from transportation.

July 31, 2019 - Crosscut

Texas Highway

TxDOT Could Spend $600 Million to Improve Highway Safety

Texas leads the nation in automobile-related deaths, and the state is considering spend a large amount of money to lower the number of fatalities on the state's highways.

July 31, 2019 - Houston Chronicle

Subway Turnstiles

Riders Can Finally Tap Into the New York Subway

Other cities already have transit systems that allow riders through fare gates with the tap of a card, or even a phone. Now the most expansive subway system in the United States is joining the club.

July 31, 2019 - The New York Times

Electric Bus

6 Electric Buses Coming to Atlanta

A federal grant puts Atlanta among the vanguard of cities introducing electric bus technology to the streets.

July 30, 2019 - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Seattle Streetcar

Central City Connector Streetcar Inches Forward in Seattle

In the first signs of life for the beleaguered transit project in over a year, Seattle officials found some of the money they need to proceed with the Central City Connector streetcar project.

July 30, 2019 - The Urbanist

Highway

Too Many Roads for Financial Sustainability

Overpaving roads is like overeating ice cream, according to this Strong Towns article.

July 30, 2019 - Strong Towns

San Francisco Tunnel Boring Machine

Subway Project Budget 'Running on Fumes' in San Francisco

The high-profile Central Subway is in danger of running out of money, according to a federal watchdog.

July 29, 2019 - San Francisco Examiner

Subway WiFi

New York MTA Almost Eliminated WiFi on Buses

The New York City MTA has changed the story, twice, about its plans for little used WiFi service on the city buses.

July 29, 2019 - The City

Sound Transit Light Rail Extension

Light Rail Coming to Everett in 2036—Grassroots Planning Already Underway

A new light rail station scheduled for 2036 has one group in Everett, Washington thinking big.

July 29, 2019 - HeraldNet

BART Fare Gate

New BART Fare Gates Raise Questions About Hostile Design

How far is BART willing to go to stop people from jumping fare gates? Social media users have called new fare gates "skull crushers" and "inverted guillotines."

July 29, 2019 - KQED

Valley Metro Rail

Court: Phoenix Transit Spending Initiative Stays on the Ballot

The whole idea of public transit will be up for reconsideration in Phoenix on August 27.

July 29, 2019 - AP via ABC 15

Washington D.C. Street

U.S. Senate to Consider Five-Year Highway Bill Reauthorization

The first draft of the five-year reauthorization of the FAST Act would expand first-year spending by 17 percent.

July 29, 2019 - Transport Topics

BART System

$100 Billion Bay Area Transportation Tax Considered for November 2020 Ballot

Two years after voters in the nine-county Bay Area agreed to hike tolls on the region's seven state-owned bridges, regional business leaders are hoping they will approve a one-cent regional sales tax to fund $100 billion in transportation projects.

July 28, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

WeGo Public Transit

A New Transit Hub Pitched in Nashville

The city of Nashville is trying to get back on track with some of the projects proposed in the 2016 nMotion plan—even without the massive pot of transit tax money it could have won at the ballot box.

July 28, 2019 - Streetsblog USA

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.