With the popularity of electric scooters, it seems like non-automobile travel is gaining a large new constituency. Making room for scooters raises big questions of infrastructure that might not be answered first by nomenclature.

"In a matter of months, electric scooter companies have set up fleets in dozens of American cities," writes Angie Schmitt to raise a big question. "Where do these vehicles belong on our streets?"
"The most logical place for them seems to be bike lanes. That’s how scooter firm Bird sees it — the company wants to help cities build bike lanes so its customers can safely ride in the street without impeding people on sidewalks," according to Schmitt.
But bike lanes are for bikes, and many opponents of bike infrastructure complain about how seldom they are used. But with this new mode taking to the streets and proving very popular, perhaps it's time to completely reframe the bike lane.
Jarrett Walk suggests in a recent blog post that we rethink the different kinds of lanes on the street after carefully considering their defining qualities. The key characteristics to consider: speed and width.
All this came up because I was trying to think of the correct new term for “bike lane” as we proliferate more vehicle types that run more or less at the speed and width of bicycles but are clearly not bicycles, such as electric scooters. The two logical terms seem to be narrow lane or midspeed lane. One way or another the two concepts will need to track with each other.
FULL STORY: Do We Need a New Theory and Name for “Bike Lanes”?

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing
The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant
A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing
Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.
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.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions