The Google-owned company has the data to connect commuters to possible carpool buddies, Whether Waze can stem the long-term decline in carpooling remains to be seen.

Waze Carpool, a spinoff of the Google-owned direction company, Waze, is a kind of Tinder for carpooling. It uses data from its navigation app to pair commuters who have similar trips with each other. "Waze sees carpooling as a natural extension of its crowd-powered navigation app, which integrates information on traffic and road conditions from users into its directions," Andrew Small writes for CityLab.
Carpooling has a number of benefits for cities in that it can reduce total emissions and congestion. Waze could use the good press, as it has drawn criticism for increasing traffic on once-quiet streets. Waze Carpool, which launched last year, has to contend with a decades-long trend away from carpooling. Carpooling was more common when the suburbs were less built out and gas was more expensive. Now the percentage of Americans who own cars and the number of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) have steadily increased, so the task of inspiring more Americans to carpool is a big one.
FULL STORY: Can Waze Convince Commuters to Carpool Again?

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

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

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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Planning for Universal Design
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Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie