The clever designs serve multiple purposes—providing more bike parking while getting cars out of illegal parking spaces.

Starting soon, you might see new bike racks coming to Philly.
A competition to “reimagine bike parking” has declared a winner — a bike rack with a solar-powered shelter, motion-sensitive security, and protective bollards, per a press release from the Philadelphia Parking Authority.
The PPA’s “Rack ‘em Up” competition sought ideas from the public to build a bike rack that would serve multiple purposes, the release said: First, it would provide more bike parking in a city that lacks it. Second, the racks would be placed in the street, rather than the sidewalk, and they were designed to be located in front of a fire hydrant — preventing a car from illegally parking there. The city has issued more than 30,000 parking tickets to cars blocking fire hydrants this year, the release said, and in an actual emergency, firefighters usually have to break an illegally parked car’s window to reach a hydrant. Thus, a bike corral that maintains hydrant access solves two problems at once, the release said.
FULL STORY: New Philly Bike Racks Blend Form, Function, Fire Hydrant Access

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.

Proposed Transit Line Would Connect Downtown Tucson to Airport
Based on community input for a 15-mile transit line, residents want to see a focus on affordable housing development and anti-displacement measures.

Strip Malls as a Housing Solution
The American strip mall may be a dying breed of commercial development, but could the buildings serve a new use as sustainable housing?

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 Planning Partners
Sandy City
Ada County Highway District
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
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.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
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.