Project Connect promises to prioritize equity and inclusion with $300 million dedicated to anti-displacement efforts.

Austin's newly approved $7 billion transit expansion plan boasts an ambitious set of goals that, according to Mayor Steve Adler, meets "so many long-held needs." The project will expand bus and electric bike share services, build a transit tunnel, and install almost ten miles of commuter rail.
While efficient and popular with transportation planners, light rail has a darker connotation for many community activists like Susana Almanza. Almanza, who serves as director of environmental justice organization PODER, worries about the effects of the new transit infrastructure on local communities, citing a history of displacement that frequently follows new rail lines. As transit-adjacency transforms from an undesirable reality to a highly valued urban amenity, low-income communities near rail lines become displaced by luxury housing developments aimed at upwardly mobile workers. An NRDC study of California's major urban areas found that rent for a two-bedroom apartment within a half-mile of a transit stop averaged more than $3,000, well above affordability for most transit-dependent families.
Austin's leaders are addressing these concerns head-on with an equity plan and dedicated budget aimed at helping low-income residents stay in their homes and reducing the negative impacts of rail construction. The budget includes rent subsidies and homeowner assistance to help the communities that rely on transit the most and offset the neighborhood change inevitably brought by new transit infrastructure. As part of the equity plan, the city plans to create a neighborhood-level equity assessment tool and community advisory committee that will monitor performance progress once projects are underway.
FULL STORY: The next challenge for Austin’s transit plan: Delivering on its equity pledge

New York Governor Advances Housing Plan Amid Stiff Suburban Opposition
Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious proposal to create more housing has once again run into a brick wall of opposition in New York’s enormous suburbs, especially on Long Island. This year, however, the wall may have some cracks.

Rethinking the Role of Parking in the American City
In cities big and small, the tide is turning against sprawling parking lots, car-centric development, and minimum parking mandates.

Friday Eye Candy: 20 AI-Generated Cityscapes
AI-generated images are creating new landscapes and cityscapes, capable of inspiring awe or fear.

Proposed Pool Would Make an Olympic-Sized Play Area in the San Francisco Bay
The San Francisco Bay is usually an undesirable place to swim, except for a hearty few. A development proposal seeking assistance at the state level would add a pool to the Bay’s waters to make the idea of going for a swim more appealing.

Chicagoland Transit Agencies Call for State Funding as Budget Shortfall Looms
Illinois transit agencies want to see changes to a law requiring them to collect half of their revenue from transit fares, arguing that low ridership and staffing shortages will lead to a massive budget gap without intervention.

Panel: Minneapolis Zoning Updates Should Reflect Mixed-Use Future
A discussion of post-pandemic changes in work and commuting concluded that the city’s overhaul of its zoning code should be less restrictive with land uses.
Princeton Planning
City of College Park
Houston-Galveston Area Council
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
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.