CityLab investigates the practices of company officials at Nextdoor to cultivate relationships with police and local officials.

Sarah Holder reports on the efforts of Nextdoor, the neighborhood-focused social media app, to promote its network of online communities to government agencies. According to Holder, Nextdoor's cultivation of police and public officials, "reflects a trend that’s worrying to civil rights and government accountability experts: that local law enforcement and other types of government officials are closely collaborating with private companies whose interests don’t always align with the public’s."
Nextdoor's engagement with public officials includes the creation of the Public Agencies Advisory Council, which exists to give public officials a chance to advise the app. Holder documents an expensive junket hosted by Nextdoor for the council.
Holder explains a lot more about how Nextdoor works, and what differentiates the app from other social media platforms. According to Holder, users of the app have increased posting threefold during the pandemic, but the platform has a history of "racist profiling and tattling."
FULL STORY: How Nextdoor Courts Police and Public Officials

The Unceremonious Death of a Freeway Expansion Project
The end of an Oregon freeway project didn't get much fanfare, but the victory is worth celebrating.

Converting Golf Courses to Housing Never as Easy as the Market Would Like
Thousands of golf courses have closed in recent years, but the obvious redevelopment opportunity represented by many defunct courses isn’t always easy to realize.

Sadik-Khan: NYC Congestion Pricing Program Potentially ‘Transformative’—If Done Right
The former transportation commissioner says the city must ensure the program isn’t “all stick and no carrot to succeed.

How College Campuses Fulfill an Urbanist Dream
Most college campuses in the United States are inherently walkable, mixing various uses with diverse housing options and transit networks.

Austin in Race Against Time to Secure Freeway Cap Funding
With a major freeway expansion project looming, the Texas capital is seeking federal funding to build several freeway ‘decks’ downtown.

Tracking the Rise of Biking in the U.S.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, most U.S. cities saw a sharp rise in the number of trips taken by bike, but a recent plateau indicates a need for better infrastructure to promote continued growth.
Caltrans
Caltrans
Knoxville-Knox County Planning
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Washington University
Mpact: Mobility, Community, Possibility
Lassen County Planning and Building Services
City of San Carlos
National Capital Planning Commission
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.