The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
How Important is High Frequency Transit Service?
Earlier this month, Portland’s TriMet restored high frequency bus service to ten bus routes around the city. Jarrett Walker makes the case that the frequency of service can make or break a city’s transit system.
Regulation Success Story: Diesel Emissions Greatly Reduced
Thanks to the 2010 federal requirement of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel and new Tier 4 emissions standards by the EPA, particulate emissions from non-road diesel engines, including agricultural and construction equipment, have been reduced by 99%.
FEATURE
Transit + Technology: Revitalizing Public Transportation for Smarter Communities
Neil Roberts shares details of Melbourne's Yarra Trams, which has exceeded its service delivery and punctuality goals by the use of intelligent transit technology like sensors, the tramTRACKER app, and mobile work stations for employees.
Lessons for Shrinking Cities from Youngstown, Ohio
The city of Youngstown, Ohio has lost 60 percent of its population since the 1960s. The Youngstown 2010 plan attempted to redevelop a new, smaller city, but how well has it accomplished its goals so far?
Boston’s Government Center T Station Closed for Access Improvements
Boston recently shut down one of its busiest transit hubs, the Government Center T Station for over-due renovations above and below the ground. The station was originally built in 1898, and without a major renovation since the 1960s.
New Garden City Won't Solve London's Affordable-Housing Problem
London’s contemporary affordable-housing crisis has revived a century-old idea: the garden city.
N.C. Coal Ash Spill Sheds Light On Role Played by EPA
The federal investigation of Duke Energy's Feb. 2 coal ash spill sheds light not only on the company and its state regulator, but also on that of the Environmental Protection Agency and holds wider implications for the coal industry as a whole.
Social Justice Through Tiny House Communities
Tiny houses aren’t just for eco-warriors. They can also be a means for homeless and mentally ill individuals to reenter mainstream society.
Offshore Wind Proposal Doesn’t Pencil Out for New Jersey State Regulators
Hopes for New Jersey to be a national leader in offshore wind energy were dealt a setback when the state Board of Public Utilities rejected the financial plan of a 25-megawatt project proposed for a site three miles off the coast near Atlantic City.
‘This is Cleveland’ Rebranding Appeals to Millennials, Hipsters
Positively Cleveland, Northeast Ohio’s tourism bureau, has launched a new campaign, “This is Cleveland,” that takes a new tack in selling the region not for its orchestra and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but rather for its warts and all.
Self Sufficiency Through Urban Farming
Lessons from a successful urban farming effort can be applied to achieve resource independence aside from just food.
Sow Low-Density Residential; Reap Lack of Retail
The cautionary tale of “a very suburban kerfuffle” in Blaine, Minnesota: residents of a “large, multi-builder housing development” who once opposed a multi-family residential development in the neighborhood now lament a lack of retail.
Web-Tool Maps Real-Time Deforestation
A new web-based program, Global Forest Watch, provides access to almost real-time visualization of forests around the world.
Which Is the Problem: Affordable Housing or Poverty?
Jonathan Geeting argues that Philadelphia’s recently proposed affordable housing program is focusing on the wrong problem—in Philadelphia, housing is quite affordable, but people are still too poor to afford it.
Boston Mayor Plugs Into Big Data
New Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh has installed a large data dashboard in his office to track the performance of everything from city services, hot line call volume, and social media sentiment.
Citi Bike Encounters Financial Trouble
Few details are available about just how troubled the financial situation is at the country’s most recognizable bikeshare program, but it’s possible that Citi Bike will need a cash infusion or a new model to stay in business.
Mitchell Silver to Head NYC’s Department of Parks and Recreation
He might be an outsider to some New Yorkers, but Mitchell Silver is one of the most recognizable and respected planners in the country. For his new job as New York’s parks commissioner, Silver will oversee 29,000 acres of parkland and 1,900 parks.
Vancouver Could Remove Parking Minimums for Condo Developments
Vancouver’s Transportation 2040 plan allowed for the easing of parking minimums for residential developments in parts of the city, and now city planners are beginning to explore where and how condos can be built without parking.
Fracking Fears Provoke Oil Drilling Moratorium in Carson, California
A unanimous vote by the Carson city council for the 45-day moratorium on all oil drilling, with or without fracking, was done in response to an application for drilling by Occidental Petroleum even though the company agreed not to utilize fracking.
Four Buildings in Hanford, CA: $4; Preservation and Revitalization: Priceless
In a rural farming community in California's Central Valley called Hanford, downtown revitalization means protecting and renovating its historic buildings. Luckily for Hanford, that won't cost very much.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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.
