The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Opinion: I-5 Expansion EIR Deludes Itself
The environmental impact report for a massive highway project in the Pacific Northwest ignores the reality of induced demand.
L.A. County’s New Climate Resilience Officer
As the CRO, Matthew Gonser is focused on tackling extreme heat, flooding, and wildfires while engaging the community and implementing systemic changes to build a more sustainable and climate-resilient future.
Rebuilding Hope: Restoring Manzanar's Baseball Field
Los Angeles artist Dan Kwong is leading a project to restore the baseball field at the Manzanar National Historic Site, honoring the resilience of Japanese Americans incarcerated there during World War II.
L.A. Transit Surpasses 1M Weekday Riders for First Time Since Pandemic
Rail and bus ridership in the Los Angeles metropolitan area is recovering at a faster rate than the national average.
BLOG POST
Evaluating Transportation Affordability: How Planners Can Better Respond to Demands for Lower Cost Travel
Affordability is an important but often overlooked transportation planning issue. A new report provides practical guidance for evaluating transportation affordability and achieving affordability goals.
Banning Right Turns on Red: Lessons From Atlanta
How road safety activists passed a law that could make roads much safer.
Rising Insurance Rates Squeezing Affordable Housing Developers
Spiking insurance costs in coastal areas prone to climate disasters are making it harder for low-income housing developers to keep building.
FEATURE
Not a Walk in the Park: What It Really Takes to Build Green Spaces
Park creation can take decades of perseverance to overcome financial, regulatory, and social hurdles, but the end result for the local community is more than worth it.
California Transportation Commission Reluctant to Incorporate Complete Streets Guidelines
The agency plans to update its road design guidelines by the end of the year — before a new law that prioritizes pedestrian and cyclist safety takes effect.
Utah to Build New, 1,200-Bed Shelter Campus
The state’s attempt to decentralize emergency homeless shelters yielded poor results, leading to a decision to develop a “transformative” intake campus with wraparound services.
Checking in on Detroit’s Housing Renaissance
Efforts by the city and residents have generated 17,000 new housing units in the last five years.
Proposed Alabama Bill Would Fund Public Transit
The senator who introduced the legislation cited concerns about the state’s low levels of workforce participation, noting that a lack of transportation is one of the main reasons Alabama residents can’t participate in the workforce.
Harnessing GIS and Fire for Longleaf Pine Conservation
Scientists in Florida are using GIS technology to strategically manage prescribed burns, aiding in the restoration and biodiversity of longleaf pine ecosystems while enhancing climate resilience across the Southeast.
How AI Can Improve Public Transit
Machine learning and AI can transform the way transit agencies operate and make service faster and more comfortable for users.
Google Inks Nuclear Power Deal
Tech giants are seeking out renewable energy to fuel power-hungry data centers and AI applications.
Flixbus Nearing Deal With Chicago Bus Terminal
Greyhound is shedding stations around the country, but Chicago intercity bus passengers will still be able to use the city’s main bus terminal — for now.
How a Dallas Housing Coalition Won Bonds for Affordable Housing
Dallas's bonds aren't usually used for housing. A new coalition of advocates changed that.
Urban Trees Have Bigger Impact in Hot, Dry Cities
The cooling effect of robust urban tree canopies is more pronounced in hotter, drier cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas.
BLOG POST
Book Review: Combining Sustainability and Smart Growth
A review of The Sustainable Urban Design Handbook, by architects Nico Larco and Kaarin Knudson.
DC’s Traffic Cameras Are Working, but Not a Panacea
Automated enforcement is reducing speeding, but bigger changes to street design and the built environment are needed to make the District’s streets safer and more pleasant for people walking.
Pagination
EMC Planning Group Inc.
University of Southern California
City of Meridian
American Planning Association, Sustainable Communities Division
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
Market Building Foundation Inc
Detroit Regional Partnership
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.