The Urbanist's editorial board calls for an end to highway widening and an increased focus on walking, biking, and transit.

The editorial board of The Urbanist joins a "clarion call led by the Disability Mobility Initiative and the Front and Centered Coalition: Washington State must cease spending on new highways." In an editorial published on March 18, the board cites "more pressing needs" for the state "around making our roads safe for people walking, rolling, and biking and boosting transit service to lower climate emissions" and avoid a "climate death spiral."
The board criticizes three transportation and infrastructure proposals currently in the Washington state legislature, particularly Senator Steve Hobbs' "Forward Washington" package, which, according to the authors, "in particular represents the wrong approach. The project list is heavily weighted toward highway widening." While "Governor Inslee emphasized a maintenance-first approach…he also highlighted the need for highway expansion projects." The editorial argues that "adding lanes and interchanges is clearly an expansion of highway infrastructure even if it’s dressed up with tolling or carpool lanes." Maintenance is important, but "what does maintenance first mean if billions and billions more dollars are invested in highway expansion?"
According to the authors, Washington should prioritize different strategies to meet its climate change and transportation goals. "Until our state can meet its climate goals and its Vision Zero pledge to end traffic deaths, adding more highway capacity would only be doubling down on a failing strategy and welcoming more carnage."
FULL STORY: No New Highways Is a 21st Century Imperative

Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.

Minneapolis Housing Plan a Success—Not for the Reason You Think
Housing advocates praise the city’s move to eliminate single-family zoning by legalizing triplexes on single-family lots, but that isn’t why housing construction is growing.

New White House Housing Initiative Includes Zoning Reform Incentives
The Biden administration this morning released a new program of actions intended to spur housing construction around the United States.

Study: Most of Vancouver Is a ‘15-Minute City’
A large majority of Vancouver residents can access a grocery store in 15 minutes or less by bicycle or on foot.

Urban Design, Transport, and Health
The Lancet medical journal published a series of articles that explore how to evaluate and guide urban planning decisions to create healthy and sustainable cities. Live long and prosper!

Detroit Bike Share Celebrates Five Years
In its five years of operation, Detroit’s MoGo bikeshare has added electric and adaptive bikes to its fleet of more than 600 bikes.
Ada County Highway District
PolicyMap
City & Borough of Juneau
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 Redwood City
City of Rohnert Park
City of Hot Springs
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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.
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This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.